Gazan Boy Reported "Killed by IDF" is Found Alive and Well

A story that spread through international headlines for months, claiming an 8-year-old Gazan boy was shot and killed by the Israel Defense Forces, has been exposed as a lie. The boy, Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, known as "Abboud," was located alive in Gaza three months after a former contractor with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), Anthony Aguilar, had pushed the false narrative.

Aguilar’s claim, which alleged the boy was shot during an aid distribution, was picked up by major news outlets and circulated widely, contributing to the popular anti-Israel narrative. The story was never verified, and it now appears the boy was being hidden from Hamas.

In late August, a team of GHF investigators used facial recognition and biometric data to identify and confirm the boy's location in Gaza with his mother. On August 23, both mother and child were safely evacuated from the region. This revelation has brought scrutiny to Aguilar's reckless accusations and the international media's willingness to publish such claims without proper due diligence. For weeks, Israel was targeted with criticism based on what has now been proven to be a false account.

The incident highlights the challenges of reporting from a war zone and the spread of misinformation. It also brings into focus the danger faced by Gazans from Hamas itself, with the suggestion that the boy had to be hidden from the very organization that claims to protect the people of Gaza. The successful location and evacuation of Abboud and his mother is a rare positive outcome in a war often overshadowed by unverified reports and propaganda.