Wafaa Hamad, the young woman who became a symbol of Gaza’s enduring suffering after surviving an Israeli airstrike that wiped out her entire family in September 2024, has died after more than a year of medical complications and restricted care.
The September 3, 2024, strike on the Hamad family home in western Gaza killed seven of her relatives, including her parents and siblings. Wafaa was the sole survivor, but her injuries were catastrophic — she lost her right leg, suffered severe wounds to her remaining limbs, and sustained internal damage that left her in and out of consciousness for months.
Despite undergoing multiple surgeries and months of treatment at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, her condition deteriorated amid widespread medical shortages. Doctors said the 23-year-old’s death was caused by complications linked to her injuries and the lack of vital medicines and equipment under the ongoing blockade.
Humanitarian groups had repeatedly appealed for her evacuation to Egypt for advanced care, but those requests were reportedly denied due to Israel’s restrictions on medical transfers.
Local health officials described Hamad’s story as a heartbreaking example of Gaza’s collapsing healthcare system — one that continues to struggle under bombardment and blockade.
“Wafaa’s death was not only the result of her injuries, but of the denial of her right to medical treatment,” a Gaza health worker said. “She fought for more than a year, but the world failed her.”
Hamad’s funeral was held Thursday in Gaza City, where neighbors and surviving relatives gathered amid ruins to lay her to rest beside her family.