Key facts
- Nine-year-old Ritaj Abdulrahman Rihan was killed by Israeli forces while attending a math class in northern Gaza.
- The incident occurred at Abu Ubaida Bin al-Jarrah School.
- Ritaj's father stated the school was in a relatively safe area, approximately 2km from Israel's 'Yellow Line'.
- Another report mentions Raghad Ashour killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City's Rimal neighbourhood.
- A separate incident involved six-year-old Ward Jalal Al-Shaikh Khalil escaping a burning Gaza school after Israeli air strikes, with her family members among the casualties.
A nine-year-old Palestinian girl, Ritaj Abdulrahman Rihan, was killed by Israeli forces while attending a math lesson at Abu Ubaida Bin al-Jarrah School in northern Gaza. Her father stated that the school was in a relatively safe area, approximately 2 kilometers from Israel's 'Yellow Line,' a boundary imposed by the Israeli military that designates areas as no-go zones. Despite this, Israeli artillery and snipers have been reported to fire on neighborhoods within these supposedly safe zones.
Another report from Wafa news agency cited medical sources stating that secondary school student Raghad Ashour was killed and others wounded in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood. The same report indicated that 1,021 Palestinians had been killed and 3,249 wounded by Israeli attacks on Gaza since a ceasefire on October 11, 2025.
Middle East Eye detailed Ritaj's death, noting she was shot in the head while in class with around 40 other pupils. Her father expressed profound shock and grief, having insisted on sending her to school despite their displacement. Her mother described the horror of receiving her daughter back dead after dressing her for school.
Middle East Monitor also reported the killing of a 9-year-old girl, identified as Ritac Abdurrauf Reyhan, by Israeli forces while attending class in a tent at the same school, stating over 72,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Separately, BBC reported on six-year-old Ward Jalal Al-Shaikh Khalil escaping a blaze at a Gaza City school following overnight Israeli air strikes, with her mother and two siblings among the reported dead, and her father in intensive care.