Key facts
- A child was killed by Israeli gunfire in Rafah's al-Mawasi, southern Gaza Strip.
- Al Jazeera Arabic cited ambulance and emergency sources for the report.
- Earlier, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian in the Jabalia refugee camp.
- Mohammad Abdul Zinati was killed by an Israeli drone strike in northern Gaza City.
- Witnesses described a 'double-tap' attack where an initial strike injured a man, and a subsequent drone strike killed Mohammad Zinati when he approached to help.
- The Israeli military stated the initial target was a Hamas militant.
A child has been killed by Israeli gunfire in Rafah’s al-Mawasi, in the southern Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera Arabic reported on September 26, 2026, citing ambulance and emergency sources. Earlier on the same day, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Mohammad Abdul Zinati was walking home from school in northern Gaza City when he stopped at a supermarket. Shortly before 3:30 p.m., an explosion occurred, and Mohammad rushed to the street to investigate. Witnesses described a man lying injured on the ground, calling for help. As Mohammad ran towards the injured man, an Israeli drone released a glide bomb that detonated nearby, killing him. The injured man was later identified by Gaza’s civil defense as paramedic Sharif Shadi Labad, whom the Israeli military said was targeted because he was a Hamas militant.
Mohammad's cousin, Mohammed Rajeh Zinati, 26, stated that he saw the drone and shouted for Mohammad to get away, but he did not hear him. Mohammad was hit directly and killed instantly. Weapons experts who reviewed footage of the attack suggested that the death may have been avoidable, noting that the drone's high-quality cameras should have been able to identify the teenager and that some variants of the Mikholit bomb are capable of being redirected while in flight. The Israeli military has consistently rejected allegations of deliberately targeting civilians, stating that it assesses and accounts for the risk of civilian harm during strikes.