A three-year-old Palestinian toddler, Maryam Ahmed Ghanem, was rescued from a burning apartment in Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike killed her mother, Reem Asaad Awad, on Wednesday, October 14. The child reportedly witnessed her mother being burned in front of her eyes as flames engulfed their apartment.
The strike hit a residential building in western Gaza City in the early hours of the morning, triggering a fire that trapped the child inside.
Journalist rescues toddler from burning apartment
Palestinian journalist Ali Al-Jaafarawi described the rescue in an Instagram post, saying he rushed to the targeted apartment after the Israeli strike.
He said he found a little girl trapped amid flames, crying as intense heat and thick smoke made it difficult to reach her.
“By the grace of Allah, I was able to enter and bring her out,” Al-Jaafarawi wrote, describing how he rescued Maryam from the burning apartment. He also prayed for her recovery.
Toddler reportedly sustained burns
Maryam was taken to Al-Shifa Hospital for treatment. Palestinian reports said she sustained second-degree burns.
Her mother, 33-year-old Reem Asaad Awad, was killed in the strike. Her father had reportedly been killed earlier in the war, leaving her without both parents.
Gaza death toll since ceasefire
Medical sources reported that the overall death toll in Gaza since October 7, 2023, had reached 74,377, with 175,398 Palestinians injured, Wafa News Agency reported.
Since the ceasefire took effect on October 11, 2025, 1,488 Palestinians have been killed and 5,281 injured, according to the reported figures. A further 836 bodies have been recovered from beneath the rubble during that period.
