UPDATE - Palestinian grandfather who grieved for 3-year-old granddaughter killed in Israeli attack in Gaza

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - A Palestinian grandfather, who grieved for his 3-year-old granddaughter killed in an Israeli airstrike last year, lost his life in another attack in central Gaza on Monday.

Khaled Nabhan won widespread recognition last November when his 3-year-old granddaughter, Reem, and her 5-year-old brother, Tariq, were killed in an attack in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

According to an Anadolu reporter, Nabhan was killed on Monday in an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat camp.

-"Soul of my soul"

Images of Nabhan made headlines as he embraced the lifeless body of his granddaughter, bidding farewell as he kissed her eyes and stroked her hair and face, calling her the "soul of my soul."

His heart-wrenching story went viral worldwide and dominated world media as one of many innocent lives lost in Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.

"Reem, she is my darling. My heart is broken. I sleep and wake up and my eyes are full of tears. We lived in the same house with Reem. I used to play games with her every day. I wouldn't just call her 'darling.' I would call her 'my heart, my two eyes.' I miss her very much," Nabhan told Anadolu at that time.

"I never thought that our children would be bombed. Yes, my heart aches. They filmed me and everyone saw it. I wasn't even aware that I was being filmed. But there are many others here who weren't caught on video and whose hearts are burning," he said.

- Humanitarian icon

Following his grandchildren's death, Nabhan turned to charity and relief work to help helpless Gazans struggling to live under Israeli attacks.

He took part in distributing food in Gaza for Palestinians who are on the verge of famine in the blockaded territory.

In June, Nabhan, who is known as Abu Diaa, appeared in a video while feeding stray cats in the enclave.

Israel has continued a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 45,000 victims, mostly women and children, since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last month for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.