On Friday, March 6, 2026, a 13 or 14-year-old boy named Ismail Zuhir Aqel Abdul Rahman was allegedly shot and killed by Israeli military forces near Khalifa School in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.

On the afternoon of March 6, Shehab Agency, Palestine Today TV Channel and others reported that “a child was martyred by Israeli …. forces in the Beit Lahia project, northern Gaza Strip.” According to numerous sources, including Facebook accounts Gaza News Now, Iyad Abu Harbid, Huthaifa Alslamat, and Ibrahim Rabah, “the child Ismail Aqel, 13 years old, was martyred by the [Israeli] bullets.” One source, Facebook user Atef Sukkar claimed that Ismail was killed by a “drone strike.” All other sources indicate that he was killed by “bullets.”

According to Ismail’s profile on the website “Genocide in Gaza”, he was killed with “a number of other martyrs”, but other sources did not corroborate this information. According to this website, he was aged 14 at the time of his death, while most local sources indicated his age as 13.

Musab al-Sharif shared a video (via Facebook) in which someone spoke about the shooting, saying that Ismail was brought to Al-Shifa Hospital in the late evening as people broke their fast. He was reportedly declared dead upon arrival. The video also showed an elderly male wrapping the child’s body in a white shroud.

On social media, loved ones mourned Ismail’s death. Facebook user Abu Hamza Abdul Rahman announced “the martyrdom of our nephew Ismail Zuhair Aqel Abdul Rahman” and shared a photo of the young boy smiling at the camera, wearing a dark grey hoodie and with rubble from partially destroyed buildings visible in the background. The Association of the Sons of Beit Lahia Project, expressed their grief to the community, calling Ismail an “innocent child” who was “kind-hearted” and would be remembered well. They shared that his funeral prayer was to take place at Khalifa School and that he would be buried in the Beit Lahia Project Cemetery.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the incident to the Israeli military. According to the website “Genocide in Gaza”, the attack happened without prior warning.