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Two-year-old Mariam Ghanem was reportedly rescued from a burning apartment in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike killed her mother, Reem Awad, leaving the young child facing a future without her parents.
Mariyam Adheela
Right: Two-year-old Mariam Ghanem cries amid the flames after an Israeli airstrike killed her mother. Left: Mariam in hospital after surviving the fire that claimed her mother’s life.
Gaza: A young girl was pulled from a burning apartment in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike killed her mother, in a heartbreaking incident that has drawn attention to the devastating toll of the war on Palestinian children.
Two-year-old Mariam Ghanem reportedly watched helplessly as flames engulfed the apartment where she was with her mother, Reem Awad, 33. The strike killed Reem, while Mariam was rescued from the fire.
Palestinian journalist Ali al-Jaafrawi reportedly rushed into the burning building and carried Mariam to safety. Images and footage of the rescue circulated on social media, drawing attention to the little girl caught in the aftermath of the attack.
Reports said Mariam suffered burns and was taken to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza for treatment.
The tragedy is made even more painful by reports that Mariam’s father had been killed earlier in the war. With her mother also gone, the young girl has reportedly lost both parents while still at an age when a child depends entirely on family for safety and care.
The scale of the crisis extends far beyond individual tragedies like Mariam’s. UNICEF reported that at least 21,289 children had been killed in Gaza since October 2023, according to figures available on February 3, 2026, while 44,500 children had been injured.
In its mid-year 2026 report, UNICEF said 277 children had been reported killed since the ceasefire began on October 10, 2025. The figures highlight the continuing danger facing children, even during periods when fighting is meant to have eased.
The war has also devastated children’s education, health and emotional well-being. UNICEF’s 2025 year-end report, published in 2026, said all 637,000 school-aged children in Gaza lacked access to formal education, while 95.5 per cent of the territory’s 815 schools had been damaged or destroyed. UNICEF has also warned of severe health risks, including malnutrition, unsafe water and disrupted healthcare.
Its 2026 child-focused assessment found that prolonged displacement and the collapse of essential services were harming children’s development and mental health, leaving many in need of sustained support to recover.
