April 10, 2026 - Ritaj Abdulrahman Rihan was practising the subtraction of four-digit numbers during a maths lesson in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.
Her teacher had given the pupils an exercise and asked them to solve it.
Ritaj wrote down the questions, but the space left for her answers remained blank - stained instead with her blood.
The nine-year-old Palestinian girl was shot in the head by Israeli forces stationed nearby while attending class alongside around 40 other pupils at Abu Ubaida Bin al-Jarrah School on Thursday.
She was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead before her parents could say goodbye.
“Every day, I take my daughter to school so she can learn like any other child in the world,” Ritaj's father, Abdulrahman, told Middle East Eye.
“Today, about an hour after I dropped her off, I received the news that my daughter had been killed. I never expected to receive news of her killing while she was in a place of learning. It was a shock beyond words.”
 |
| Ola Rihan holds the bloodstained notebook of her daughter, Ritaj Abdulrahman Rihan, who was killed by Israeli fire while solving a maths question (MEE/Hani Abu Rezeq) |
The family had been living in a makeshift tent after their home was destroyed in Israeli attacks. Despite this, they insisted on keeping Ritaj in school, walking about 1km to and from classes each day.
She was their first child.
“I wanted her to learn and go to school like any other child around the world. We indeed have another four-year-old child. But Ritaj was our first child, our first joy,” Abdulrahman said.
“We were happy she had grown up enough and remained alive and healthy after two years of genocide to carry a school bag and notebooks. She was finally back at school. She was clever and loved school.”
‘Supposed to be a safe area’
Over the past two years, Ritaj had been out of school due to Israel’s large-scale attacks and the repeated displacement of her family. This was the first school year she had been able to attend following the ceasefire agreement.
Although classes are held in damaged buildings or makeshift tents, her father said it was still better than keeping her out of education altogether.
The school is in what is described as a relatively safe area in northern Gaza, around 2km from the so-called “Yellow Line” enforced by Israel.
The boundary has been unilaterally imposed and marked by the Israeli military inside the Gaza Strip since the US-brokered ceasefire in October.
It designates large areas of the territory as no-go zones, barring Palestinians - under threat of lethal force - from accessing land to the north, south and east.
However, Israeli artillery units and snipers stationed along the "Yellow Line" routinely open fire on neighbourhoods within the supposedly safe zone.
“The school is supposed to be in a safe area. It is not close to the Yellow Line, and this is why we felt comfortable enough to send her there to learn,” Rihan’s mother, Ola, told MEE.
“I had dressed her, combed her hair, and tied it for school this morning. She was returned to me dead, with her face covered in blood. I still cannot process the shock.
“Ritaj was cheerful and kind. She never caused me trouble and would always say 'yes, Mama' to everything. Even now, I see her image before me. I cannot believe she is gone.”
‘This is not ink, it’s my daughter’s blood’
Along with Ritaj’s body, Ola was given her notebook. She examined it closely, searching for what her daughter had been working on before she was killed.
“This is her notebook, and here is the lesson she was studying today, but could not finish. These are the pages stained with my daughter’s blood. This is not ink; this is my daughter’s blood,” she told MEE, holding the blood-stained pages.
“This notebook is the greatest proof of Israel’s crimes against our children.”
Israeli forces have killed and wounded scores of Palestinians near the "Yellow Line" or in relatively safe areas adjacent to it since October 2025, in continued violation of the ceasefire.
As it has gradually expanded, the military boundary has swallowed more land each month, displacing thousands of residents who had been allowed to return home under the ceasefire agreement.
In several cases, Israeli forces have flattened areas brought under its control, with homes and residential buildings bombed soon after.
“It was a shock beyond words because we never imagined losing her in this way, especially since we thought that we were safe here. Ritaj was the most precious thing I had. She was a piece of my soul,” Ola said.
“We had bought her this dress and these shoes so she could wear them to her uncle’s wedding next week. She was so happy about them and excited to wear them. But she was never able to wear them. Today, she came back to me in a shroud.”
 |
| Ola Rihan holds a dress and shoes she bought for her daughter’s uncle’s wedding before she was killed (MEE/Hani Abu Rezeq) |
Before Rihan, Ola had already lost her mother, her sister, her sister’s children and her uncle in Israeli attacks.
“We do not want to lose any more. Shock after shock, we are exhausted,” she said.
“Our children are killed all the time. Even after they finally managed to attend school. The occupation wants to stop the educational process.
“It does not want a generation to grow up educated and capable."
~ Middle East Eye ~
