Child Profile: Heba Hamed Mohamed Al Sheikh Khalil

Name: Heba Hamed Mohamed Al Sheikh Khalil

Date of birth: 1 January 2001

Date of death: 20 July 2014

Thirteen-year-old Heba from Al Sheja'ia in eastern Gaza City was said to be a beautiful girl. She was an outstanding student.  She did her homework and prepared well for her exams. She was described as obedient to her mother; she always rushed to help her when asked. She was very clever  and excelled in English in particular, memorizing new words quickly. Her parents expected a bright future for her. She liked music and would form a band with her. She wrote and composed the lyrics to the songs. "She used to tell her grandfather, ‘we performed a play and everyone played their role very well," said her father.

On 20 July 2014, random Israeli shelling intensified on civilian houses in Heba's neighborhood. She went with her family down to the ground floor of the house in search of shelter. An Israeli shell targeted them. Six people were killed on the spot including Heba.