Elderly Palestinian woman 'older than Israel' killed by Israeli sniper

An elderly Palestinian woman who went viral on social media after saying that she's "older than Israel" was shot dead by Israeli snipers outside her house.

The woman, Hadiya Nassar, appeared in a video where Palestinian journalist Saleh Aljafarawi, holding her ID card, said, "you are older than Israel".

Nassar, who was born in 1944 - four years before Israel's creation - replied, "of course, of course," adding, "I am holding on to the [Palestinian] land."

In the video, Nassar was in hospital being treated for injuries following an Israeli airstrike. 

Aljafarawi confirmed her death on social media site X on Thursday, writing: "You were martyred, my beloved. May God have mercy on your and make your resting place Paradise."

According to Al Jazeera, Aljafarawi's cousin, who was Nassar's neighbour, told him that she was killed by an Israeli sniper outside her front door.

Her death comes as the death toll from Israel's deadly military campaign in Gaza reaches 17,487 people, including 7,729 children, according to Gaza's health authorities.

Included in the figure are civilians such as Palestinian academic and writer Refaat Alareer, who was targeted in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, alongside his sister and four children.

The number of civilian deaths in Gaza prompted Doctors without Borders to describe Israel's military campaign in Gaza as one of "indiscriminate killing".