Bahaa Abu Al-Ajeen, 32, set out with his 3-year-old son Rayan to check on their family home east of Deir al-Balah.

After inspecting the house and leaving the area, Bahaa said he was shocked to see Israeli soldiers emerging from a nearby building. “My son was in my arms and crying intensely from fear,” he recalled.

According to his account, he decided to move away from the soldiers in an attempt to calm Rayan and walked approximately 500 meters from the area. Bahaa said that after he had distanced himself, the soldiers began shouting at him to stop. He stated that two shots were fired in his direction but did not hit either him or his son, prompting him to stop out of fear for their lives.

“After I stopped, one of the soldiers knelt down and fired directly at my son,” Bahaa said. “The bullet entered the back of Rayan’s head and exited through his left eye. Moments later, another bullet struck my left leg. When I saw them kill my son, I screamed and asked them, ‘He is a child. Why did you kill him?’”

Bahaa said he attempted to call an ambulance using his mobile phone, but the soldiers confiscated it and prevented him from seeking medical assistance. According to Bahaa’s testimony, Rayan bled for approximately seven minutes before dying from his injuries. He said he pleaded with the soldiers to save his son, but they refused.