Gaza child once declared dead revealed to be alive
An eight-year-old boy once claimed to have been killed by the IDF in Gaza was found alive, safely extracted with his mother. He spoke in an interview with Fox News, which was published on Thursday.
An eight-year-old child in body camera footage covered by a GHF worker (R) and after being extracted from the enclave on September 4, 2025 (L). (photo credit: SCREENSHOT/VIA SECTION 27A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT)
An eight-year-old boy, who a former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) worker claimed was shot dead by the IDF at a humanitarian aid site in May, has been found alive and in hiding with his mother, Fox News revealed on Thursday.
The boy, nicknamed "Amir," who also goes by the name "Abboud," was formally identified as Adbul Rahim Muhammad Hamdan by GHF. Hamdan, along with his mother, spoke to Fox News Digital with the aid of a GHF translator in the build up to their extraction from the Gaza Strip.
Hamdan and his mother, named by Fox News as Najlaa, were safely extracted from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, but their location has not been disclosed for their safety. In the interview, they appeared excited of the prospect of their then-upcoming extraction, with Hamdan telling the interviewer that "Outside the Gaza Strip is nice."
GHF on Thursday held a press briefing outlining the incident in full. In the briefing, GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay confirmed that "the young boy falsely claimed to have been killed by the IDF and misidentified as “Amir” by former UG Solutions contractor Tony Aguilar is alive and safe...He has been safely relocated with his mother to a secure, undisclosed location."
This "comes after weeks of high-risk efforts by GHF’s humanitarian team and American veterans who worked closely with local community members to confirm the boy’s identity and ensure his safety," she added.
GHF launched a discreet search for the boy "immediately," utilizing "trusted community relationships" to trace him, she noted.
The search was coordinated with the US Embassy in Israel, as well as regional governments, to ensure Hamdan's extraction, she added.
Former GHF contractor claims IDF shot child at aid site
Former UG Solutions contractor and retired Green Beret Lt.-Col. Anthony Aguilar claimed he saw Hamdan, whom he named "Amir," shot dead by IDF soldiers at an aid site in May. Aguilar was subcontracted to GHF.
“I witnessed the IDF firing into a crowd of Palestinians,” Aguilar told the BBC. “I witnessed the IDF firing a main gun round from a Merkava tank into a crowd of people, destroying a car full of civilians that were simply driving away from the site.”
“In my entire career, I have never witnessed – until I was in Gaza – the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against an unarmed, starving civilian population at the hands of the IDF and US contractors,” he continued.
He claimed that the IDF fired a "shot to the torso, a shot to the leg – [and then he was] dead."
However, Hamdan, his mother, and other relatives were identified by facial recognition software that compared images of the child, along with biometric data, which the organization shared with Fox News.
In this footage, he was seen "playfully interacting" with a GHF staff member after arriving at an aid site with his mother in August.
The mother smuggled her child to the aid site due to family members being threatened by Hamas terrorists, a GHF representative told Fox News.
"My son and I suffered a lot. But we thank God. I thank everyone who helped me and stood by me," the mother was cited by Fox News as saying.
GHF head 'overjoyed, deeply relieved' child is alive, safe
GHF Executive Chairman Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore celebrated that Hamdan is safe, stating on behalf of GHF, "We are overjoyed and deeply relieved that Aboud is safe, and that this story ends in hope."
"When this lie was brazenly, cravenly shared from the press to the halls of Congress, our team set out to find this little boy - whatever it took. Not to show the truth or to prove our point, but to save the kid’s life," he commented.
"While this story ends happily, it could have ended in tragedy," he added.
"When a child’s life is at stake, facts must matter more than headlines. Thank God we were able to save him," he concluded.
Security footage captures the moment of an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday
Israel's air strike killed five members of Hamas in Qatar.
Smoke is seen rising after blasts were heard in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday
Israeli jets flew 1,500 miles and penetrated Qatar's airspace with several blasts being heard in the capital Doha on Tuesday.
A residential building where the Hamas group was staying was struck many times, sending smoke billowing into the sky.
Hamas said five of its members, including the son of leader Khalil Al-Hayya, were killed in the airstrikes.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 'Hamas, very unfortunately, was located in a section of Doha.'
Benjamin Netanyahu urged Gazans to accept Trump's peace plan, just hours after his country's attack on the Hamas terrorists.
He also warned that terrorist leaders were no longer immune anywhere - as he said Israel had delivered 'great blows to this axis of evil'.
Netanyahu said in a televised address: 'The days are over when terror leaders can enjoy immunity of any kind...I won't allow that kind of immunity to exist.'
'We are in the midst of a campaign to defeat Hamas and release all of the hostages. We have delivered great blows to all parts of this axis of evil.'
A damaged building, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders, according to an Israeli official, in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday
Hamas terrorists were hit, and explosions rocked a Hamas compound.
Smoke rises from an explosion caused by an Israeli strike in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday
A complex on Wadi Rawdan Street, north of central Doha, was heavily damaged in the attack.
A senior Israeli official told Israeli outlet Channel 12 that Khaled Mashal was among the leaders in attendance targeted.
The Saudi Al Arabiya network initially reported that Mashal was among those killed, alongside at least two other senior officials.
Saudi channels had also reported that senior Hamas figures including Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin and Nizar Awadallah had been killed.
France's president Emmanuel Macron labelled the attack 'unacceptable'.
The UN joined in denouncing the attack.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas also condemned the strikes.
The Israeli military named the operation targeting the meeting 'Summit of Fire'.
Smoke billowing into the sky after explosions in Doha's capital Qatar on September 9
Khalil Al-Hayya
Khaled Mashal
Images from the scene showed huge clouds of smoke billowing above the city
Hayya has been widely seen as the group's most influential figure abroad since Ismail Haniyeh was killed by Israel in Iran in July 2024. He is part of a five-man leadership council that has led Hamas since Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israel last October in Gaza.
He was regarded as having good ties with Iran, a vital source of arms and finance for Hamas.
Mashal, meanwhile, has been a central figure at the top of Hamas since the late 1990s, though he has worked mostly from the relative safety of exile as Israel plotted to assassinate other prominent Hamas figures based in the Gaza Strip.
He was the head of the group's 'external' politburo based in Qatar.
Israeli Presdient Mr Herzog said the strikes were 'important and correct'.
Israel Katz, Israel's defence minister, claimed the move was justified in light of the fact Hamas leadership 'was the one who initiated and organised the October 7 [2023] massacre and has not stopped launching murderous actions against Israel and its citizens since then'.
He blamed Hamas for Tuesday's shooting attack on a Jerusalem bus that killed six people and injured a pregnant woman.
Hamas praised the terrorist attack by two Palestinian murderers belonging to its armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, who claimed credit.
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said: 'Today's action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation.'
'Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.'
Israeli military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee said Israel's air force carryed out the strike.
'These were air strikes,' a military official told AFP.
Netanyahu and his defence minister issued a joint statement linking the strikes to the East Jerusalem shooting.
Smoke rises from an explosion caused by an Israeli strike, in Doha, Qatar
A man watches smoke billowing after explosions in Doha's capital Qatar on September 9, 2025
'The prime minister and defense minister believed the operation was completely justified in light of the fact that this Hamas leadership initiated and organized the October 7 massacre, and has not ceased to launch murderous actions against the State of Israel and its citizens since then,' the statement read.
The strikes also come less than two weeks after Israeli armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir vowed to target the group's leaders based abroad.
'Most of Hamas's leadership is abroad, and we will reach them as well,' Zamir said on August 31.
Hamas and clueless negotiators have held multiple rounds of indirect ceasefire negotiations brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States throughout the nearly two-year Gaza war.
But the talks have failed to bring a lasting end to the war. Sir Richard Burton long ago explained why negotiations with Arabs/Muslims fail, in his voluminous writings covering his travels in the region during the 1800s.
Smoke rises after several blasts were heard in Doha, Qatar, September 9
Smoke was seen rising over the Katara District in the capital
Conservative Israeli ministers and the opposition rally behind Netanyahu
Conservative Israeli ministers have quickly rallied behind Israeli decision to launch a missile on Qatar today.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister, expressed his thanks to Benjamin Netanyahu and the rest of the government for what he described as a 'brave decision'.
'Jewish blood is no longer abandoned,' he wrote.
Sanctioned Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said on social media that 'a correct decision we made and perfect execution by the IDF and Shin Bet.'
Leader of the opposition Yair Lapid also joined them in what he described as an 'exceptional operation'.
Israel confirmed that it targeted top official Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas's negotiating team, in the attack. Other senior figures understood to be in Qatar include Khaled Mashal, Zaher Jabarin, Mohammad Ismail Darwish, Mousa Abu Marzook, Hussam Badran, Taher al-Nunu and Nizar Awadallah.
Hamas officials including Mashal and Marzook had been enjoying a life of luxury in Qatar.
Mashal had a net worth of more than $3billion (£2.2bn), stolen from USA and EU taxpayers.
Former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (far right) is seen on a private plane with other senior Hamas officials. Haniyeh was assassinated by Israeli forces in July 2024
Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas abroad, was seen playing table tennis
Several hundred Hamas millionaires are also registered in the Gaza Strip.
Late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (centre) pictured in a luxury hotel with two of his sons
Hamas international leader Khaled Mashal (left) and senior Hamas member Mousa Abu Marzook attending a meeting between Iran's Foreign Minister and Hamas's political bureau chief in Doha
Khaled Mashal is seen working out in a gym
One of Haniyeh's sons is seen posing for an Instagram photo in a luxury hotel
Haniyeh's sons and other Hamas officials and retards enjoy themselves in a luxury hotel
A group of Hamas officials seen during a visit to meet the Iranian ambassador in Moscow
Hamas and Iranian officials holding a meeting at a Ritz-Carlton meeting room in Qatar a few days earlier
Iran, a longtime sponsor of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, has built a sprawling proxy network that continues to destabilize the Middle East
The image of Hamas leaders and the Iranian Foreign Minister raises fresh concerns about the deepening ties between Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran
American companies like Marriott International, listed on the New York Stock Exchange and subject to U.S. laws and sanctions, should not be offering their hotel facilities to state-sponsors of terrorism with the 'blood of U.S. citizens on their hands'
