Israeli airstrike kills Palestinian TikToker Mohammed al-Halimi, ending dreams of a better life 

"Let me show you the details of my new day during the war in Gaza," this was how Mohammed al-Halimi, a 19-year-old Gaza-based Palestinian influencer usually began his short videos that he published on his social media accounts. 

Al-Halimi, who used to mix seriousness and humour in all his videos, did not know that this video would be his last, and tens of thousands of followers would grieve him soon after.

On 26 August, Mohammed went to a public tent that provided internet for its clients to publish the latest video of his new "unknown project" as he said to his followers. 

"Once he finished documenting his video and released it, we heard a huge explosion around us. Then I saw a bright white glow that turned a terrifying red before I passed out," Talal Murad, al-Halimi's friend, remarked to The New Arab. 

"As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw my friend [Mohammed al-Halimi] lying on the ground, and he was bleeding from his head. He was trying to catch his breath, but suddenly he closed his eyes," Murad recalled. 

Both Murad and al-Halimi were among those wounded by an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle passing the beach road of al-Mawasi in Khan Younis city in the southern of Gaza. 

The wounded were transferred to the Nasser Hospital, including Al-Halimi.

A day later, the hospital announced that al-Halimi succumbed to his injuries. 

Trying to bring Gaza's voice to the world

"The shock was not only for us but also for tens of thousands of his followers on social media," Murad said.

Al-Halimi had more than 258,000 followers on TikTok alone. Despite the dire conditions he lived in and the bad internet connection, he kept up his efforts in releasing videos every day on his social media accounts. 

He documented the lives of the displaced people amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment. "He was our power that launched to the world to ask them to be attention on our suffering in Gaza," Ibrahim Shatali, another friend of al-Halimi, told TNA. 

"He was always trying to bring Gaza's voice to the world through his Instagram [...] He was among dozens of Palestinian volunteers who decided to attempt to grab the world's attention to Gaza," Shatali said. 

Once al-Halimi's death was announced, thousands of his followers began to publicly mourn him. One follower wrote that he was "their eyes on Gaza, and through him only they can see the reality in Gaza." 

@medohalimy

Baba ghanouj is Mamma Mia🤌

♬ original sound - Medo Halimy

Another follower wrote, "We have never imagined that Gaza has its own special life and the people there are innocent ones, not like what Israel claims all the time."

"Such young volunteers help us and our communities to be aware of the reality in Gaza and the Palestinian people are looking forward to living in peace far away from the conflict," Hunter Stuart, an American journalist, remarked to TNA.

"I am so sad to lose such good persons and I hope he is in a better place now," Stuart added. 

Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli army launched a large-scale genocidal war against the besieged coastal enclave killing more than 40,500 Palestinians and wounding more than 100,000, according to the Gaza-based Palestinian health ministry.