Ruwa Qudeih
Age 14
Ruwa was 14. She was a student at Al-Amal School in Khan Younis before it was destroyed by 1,000-lb bombs. Her family described her as a quiet, helpful girl who loved her studies and dreamed of becoming a doctor. She was a quiet, dependable presence at the Red Crescent Al-Amal Hospital, where they had been hiding from bombings for weeks.
The siege of Al-Amal Hospital continued day and night. Men surrounded the hospital, and they shot anyone who tried to leave or come in. The men had shut off the hospital’s water supply. This left only a few days of drinking water for hundreds of desperate and trapped patients, staff, and displaced families. So Ruwa volunteered to get water for her family. She picked up a yellow jerrycan—which the men knew made her a “civilian”—and stepped outside.
Before Ruwa could go far, a man saw her leave the hospital with her can and look around for water. On February 2, 2024, Ruwa was gunned down right past the entrance of the hospital. She was shot in the head, leaving her bleeding body next to the empty water container. A paramedic who witnessed the killing said: “She was just a child. She was holding a water container. She wasn’t carrying a weapon. She wasn’t a threat to anyone.” The man then continued shooting at the hospital entrance, directly at anyone who tried to reach Ruwa. Her family could only watch from inside the hospital as she lay dead in the street.
The votes that paid for the weapons
House Bill, H.R. 6126 (House): Emergency supplemental appropriations for Israel
Senate Resolution, S.Res. 504: Human-rights report on Israel (Senate blocked the vote)