Who was Yaqeen Hammad? Gaza's ‘youngest influencer’ reportedly killed by Israeli airstrike

Yaqeen Hammad, an 11-year-old influencer from Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Her home was destroyed, and rescuers found her body amid the rubble.

Eleven-year-old Yaqeen Hammad, Gaza’s “youngest influencer”, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on al-Baraka in Deir el-Balah, northern Gaza, on Friday night, among a dozen others, per The Guardian.

Rescuers found Yaqeen Hammad's body under the debris of her destroyed home. (Instagram/Yaqeen Hammad)

The 11-year-old influencer's home in central Gaza was reportedly reduced to rubble in a recent wave of heavy airstrikes. The Guardian reported that the rescue workers later recovered her body from beneath the debris.

Who was Yaqeen Hammad?

Yaqeen had become widely known for sharing survival tips from within the war zone. “I try to bring a bit of joy to the other children so that they can forget the war,” she said in one of her Instagram posts.

Working alongside her older brother, humanitarian worker Mohamed Hammad, Yaqeen partnered with the Ouena Collective, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting Gaza’s most vulnerable, especially orphans.

She was often seen on camera distributing toys, clothing, and food. One of her more recent posts, shared just a week before her death, featured children laughing and dancing. “Is there anything more beautiful than the smile of children Gaza?” she wrote in the caption.

Yaqeen’s content showed how life goes on in Gaza, how meals are made when fuel is scarce. During Ramadan, she and her brother shared videos of building a community kitchen, so people had something to eat at sunset.

Following her death, tributes poured in from Gaza and beyond

“Her body may be gone, but her impact remains a beacon of humanity,” wrote Gazan photojournalist Mahmoud Bassam.

Another Gazan journalist, Motasem A Dalloul, posted, “Little angel, who was active on social media, Yaqeen Hammad has been KILLED in n Israeli bombing of her family house in Deir al Balah!”

Notably, Al Jazeera reported dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed in renewed Israeli airstrikes since Friday. The UN reports that nearly 180,000 people were displaced between May 15 and 25 alone as Israel’s military operation intensified.