Israel killed Gaza’s youngest influencer.
Her name was Yaqeen. She was 11.
Yaqeen Hammad posted survival tips for kids living under airstrikes- to over 100K followers. But there’s no tip to survive your home being bombed. Was Hamas hiding in her bedroom?
I never got the chance to work with Yaqeen. At Seen Palestine, most of our creators are still up and coming, with much smaller followings. But we know what it feels like to lose a storyteller in Gaza.
Medo Halimy was 19.
We were in WhatsApp chats, planning something special. He spoke with that soft “Disney” accent- like so many kids in Gaza. You can hear it in all his videos. Because everyone grows up consuming the same cartoons.
He called his series “Tent Life.” Quick videos about being displaced, over and over again. In his last days, Medo went live on TikTok, sipping coffee and smiling. Trying to find internet to share his next story. That’s when Israel bombed his tent. Was Hamas hiding in there too?
This isn’t just a massacre. It’s a media blackout by missile. Because for the first time in history, genocide is being livestreamed. And yet, the bombs keep falling. Global solidarity with Palestinian liberation has never been stronger. But it’s solidarity without action.
How come when we saw awful images of Ukrainian children being bombed, the world opened its borders, its hearts, and its wallets? Europe didn’t hesitate.
If Yaqeen and Medo were white, would the world move faster? Or would their lives still be flattened into “complicated conflict” headlines?
We’ll never know. But we’ll never stop telling their stories.
Yusuf