Jana Ayyad
Age 8
Jana Ayyad was eight. Her mother, Nesma, had no money because their father had traveled to Egypt for medical treatment before 10/7 and became stranded there. Jana spent her days playing with dolls, drawing, coloring, and writing. She dreamed of becoming a dentist, promising her mother she would give her a “beautiful smile” when she grew up. Her sister Joury was two. Their father was stranded outside Gaza when the war began and could not return.
The family’s survival depended on leaving Gaza for medical care. As the Israeli settler and military blockades caused children to have terrible malnutrition, the two sisters had to leave the country for treatment. Their names had been on medical evacuation lists for a year. Doctors in Gaza added Jana and Joury to the evacuation list in September 2024. The evacuations never happened.
Evacuations were controlled by COGAT—the Israeli military authority—and approvals were endlessly delayed. Doctors warned the girls could die at any moment. When a mission was finally arranged, Israel initially approved Jana and her mother to leave northern Gaza, but on the second stage of the journey, they rejected exit permission for her mother.
Suddenly, Joury developed a sickness where her skin peeled and bled. She died first, on July 20, 2025, from kidney failure. Her mother said Joury, only 1 year old, died from sickness “because of hunger.” After Joury’s death, Jana asked her mother in fear: “Mama, will I die like Joury?”
Jana was forced to weakly cry for her sister while her own weight dropped to just 24 pounds. She spent her final days curled up and sobbing for her missing father as well. She had trouble seeing, speaking, and standing. Her arms, legs, and stomach began to swell up with edema fluid. She died on September 16, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. UNICEF Communication Manager Tess Ingram announced Jana’s death from abroad. She said: “The world failed Jana so many times. A little girl forced to endure so much pain because of deliberate decisions that were made to restrict the entry of food into the Gaza Strip.”
The votes that paid for the weapons
Joint Resolution, S.J.Res. 34: Block arms sale to Israel—1000-lb bombs
Joint Resolution, S.J.Res. 33: Block arms sale to Israel—2000-lb bombs (reattempt)
House Bill, H.R. 8034: Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024