Widowed twice: A Gaza mother’s story of loss and survival

What Happened

On June 8, 2024, during an Israeli military operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza to rescue four Israeli captives, Nisreen Touman, then 34, lost her husband Sami, 35, and two children Mahmoud, 5, and Laith, 2, according to her account. She said her husband was killed by a gunshot to the head from a quadcopter and that the family home was bombed by an Israeli aircraft as 25 relatives sheltered inside. Gaza's Health Ministry reported that 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 wounded that day, and the United Nations said 89 inhabited houses and residential buildings were targeted in nearly four hours of bombing. Eighteen members of Touman's husband's family were killed. Four and a half months later she married her late sister's husband, Mohammed, to care for his four children; on July 8, 2025, Mohammed was killed while she was pregnant.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The personal account documents the civilian toll of the June 8, 2024 Nuseirat raid, one of the deadliest single-day operations in the Gaza war according to Gaza Health Ministry figures, which reported 274 Palestinians killed. It also illustrates the long-term social and psychological consequences of the conflict, including forced remarriage arrangements and repeated bereavement among Gaza families, at a time when the operation's high civilian casualty count remains a focus of international scrutiny.

Watch For

Watch for any official Israeli military statement or investigation into the June 8, 2024 Nuseirat operation and the specific allegations of quadcopter and aircraft strikes on civilian homes; independent verification of casualty figures by UN OCHA or other monitors; and whether this account is referenced in ongoing UN or international legal proceedings concerning Gaza.