Aya, Abdul Rahman, Shadia, and Ahmad
Ages 11, 10, 3, 0
Aya Al-Haddad (11) was the eldest—studious, quiet, shy. Abdul Rahman (10) was strong-willed and popular among his friends. He was born during the 2014 war while the family sheltered with relatives on Thirtieth Street. Shadia (3) was playful and curious. Ahmad was the baby, not even a year old. He didn’t know anything about these adults’ cruelty.
Their mother Nidaa was a top student who studied information technology at university. She told a younger cousin always: “Education is our only weapon in this life. Don’t let it go, no matter what.” The kids’ father Shadi was a nurse. In 2022, he was diagnosed with cancer. He faced it with patience, traveled abroad for treatment, and survived. He came home to his children.
The family was trying to leave Gaza. Four small children, a mother, and a father who had just survived cancer. They needed medical care, stability, and a future that this brutal terror could no longer provide. Even still the family took others into their home when the Israeli military bombings began.
On October 15, 2023, a man fired a missile at the second floor of their home. Shrapnel tore through Ahmad. Nidaa carried him to the hospital that night, screaming and crying for the overwhelmed doctors and nurses to help him. The little infant was already dead. From that day, the light in her eyes dimmed.
On the night of September 18, 2024, a missile strike hit their family home on Thirtieth Street. Nidaa, Shadi, Aya, Abdul Rahman, and Shadia were all murdered while they slept. The entire family, gone. Nidaa’s father cried so hard he could barely speak. He said: “Nidaa is gone. The light of the house is gone.”
The votes that paid for the weapons
House Bill, H.R. 8034: Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024
House Bill, H.R. 815 (Senate): National Security Supplemental—Trojan Horse (shell: Veterans bill)
House Bill, H.R. 8369: Israel Security Assistance Support Act