Gaza Couple Separated by Prison Then Killed in Strike

Ramzi Abu Rida was killed by an Israeli strike in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis on September 4, 2026. He had been released from fifteen years of imprisonment just four years prior, ending a long separation from his wife Sumaya who waited for him.

Israeli forces detained Ramzi on June 27, 2006, in Khuza’a east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. He was approximately twenty years old at the time and received a sentence of fifteen years behind bars for his alleged activities during that period.

Sumaya, his cousin, agreed to marry him about two years after his initial detention began. She endured a wait lasting more than a decade while their relationship unfolded under strict restrictions, with visits being infrequent and often separated by glass barriers for brief telephone conversations.

Outside the prison walls, Sumaya and her family prepared their future home and made wedding arrangements while Ramzi remained incarcerated. On June 27, 2022, exactly fifteen years after his detention, he was released and returned to Gaza where Sumaya waited for him to start their life together.

Their wedding took place just days after his release, allowing them to finally build the life they had imagined. However, this brief period of freedom ended abruptly when Palestinian reports stated he was targeted while on his way to perform Friday prayers in Khan Younis.