In the early afternoon of Friday, July 5, 2024, at least one civilian was reportedly shot dead by the alleged Israeli military vehicles in East Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Social media users helped Airwars to identify the name of the victim as 33-year-old Sufyan Alian Baraka (Al-Siou), adding that he was shot while getting aid. The age of Sufyan was ascertained with the help of Shireen Monitor, an organisation which has a list of “Martyrs of Palestine” from 2023 onward and includes thousands of names.

In the aftermath of the incident, friends and family turned to social media to express their grief, sharing photos in his memory.

His aunt, Nahed Abu Tueima, wrote on Facebook about the devastating loss her family had just experienced. She shared that her third sister, Umm Hussam, was given the heartbreaking title of “mother of the martyr” after the passing of his son. Speaking with her on the phone from Ramallah, she could hear her sister crying as she begged the men of the family to remain patient. Meanwhile, in Ramallah, Nahed described the heavy silence that settled over her home, the street, and the entire town, with people depicting Sufyan’s heaven as: “a large stadium, his goal guarded by angels, no fear of tanks, no hunger, no displacement, only eternal rest.”

He was presented as an active football player, with most of the pictures showed him on the field or wearing a football jersey, like in the one posted by his cousin Rami Tima on Facebook.

In addition, one of the images captured him holding a trophy.

A video of his funeral was published on Facebook by Walaa Walaa, in which people were crying and bidding farewell.

The incident occurred at around 3 pm local time, according to a Facebook post by Mohammed Adwan

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.