Blogger who documented life in Gaza killed in alleged Israeli strike

A blogger who attracted a following on Instagram and TikTok by documenting daily life in Gaza has been killed in a strike.

Mohammad 'Medo' Halimy, 20, was hit by shrapnel from a nearby blast caused by an Israeli missile in Khan Younis on Monday, according to two youth organisations he had previously worked with.

The Tamer Institute for Community Education told the BBC that Halimy was in an area near the beach where displaced people have sheltered when he was fatally struck.

The IDF told the BBC it could not confirm a strike took place in Khan Younis on Monday, but said it was continuing to "counter threats while persisting to mitigate harm to civilians" in Gaza.

Halimy built up a social media audience after his family were forced to flee their home when Israel began its military operation in Gaza in the wake of the 7 October attacks.

More than 250,000 people followed him on Instagram and TikTok after he began posting videos detailing his life as one of Gaza's displaced citizens in Rafah and Khan Younis.

Halimy's videos ranged from simple cooking recipes he had created with limited supplies and appliances, to walkthrough videos of how he made his content. In an interview last year, he said every clip he posted to social media cost him about $3 - a large sum in Gaza.

He posted his final video on Monday, hours before he was killed, in which he showed the tent he was living in and detailed what he had done that day.

Both Palestinian organisations which confirmed his death to the BBC said the fatal strike happened in a nearby street and Halimy was injured by flying debris. He died the following day.

Spark, a Gaza-based charity with which Halimy had worked in the summer of 2023, confirmed his death to the BBC and praised his "ability to add beauty and splendour to a place wherever it is” in a post online.

"Muhammad, your kind spirit will remain with us, and we believe you deserve a better world," it added.

"May God have mercy on you, my beloved," his sister Rahaf wrote in a post on Instagram announcing his death. "May God accept you as a martyr."

Earlier this year, Halimy told NBC News he hoped his content would help "to show the world what our life really looks like".

“I’m showing that us Palestinians are very resilient,” he told the US broadcaster.

"We're going to survive and live no matter what happens, in whatever circumstances. We can't be defeated. We're very strong people, and we're going to live no matter what.”

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

More than 40,530 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish civilian and combatant deaths. The UN human rights office says most of those killed were women and children.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to broker a ceasefire deal that would see Hamas release the 104 hostages still being held, including 34 who are presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Indirect talks have continued in Cairo in recent days, but so far there has been no sign of a breakthrough over key sticking points. They include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that Israel keep troops along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Hamas and Egypt have rejected.