Hamas published the official martyr poster of 16-year-old child soldier Suhaib Labad on Tuesday, confirming earlier reports about his deployment by the Palestinian terrorist organization.
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades poster, accompanied by a video, listed Labad’s birthday and death date, and detailed that he was part of the Gaza Brigade’s Olive Battalion.
In the video, Labad could be seen participating in combat and issuing a statement while wielding an Israeli-made Micro-Tavor rifle.
The 16-year-old combatant had briefly appeared in the August 12 martyr video of another Hamas operative, Anas Kamel Munir al-Darimi.
Labad was widely celebrated in Arabic social media and news outlets. The celebration of the boy was featured in an August 14 Al Jazeera article, but individual journalists also heaped praise on their private accounts.
Ultra Sawt journalist Mohammed Elsakany said on Facebook that Labad was a “man of great deeds for the entire nation,” and Yemeni photographer Ubad Ahmad Al-Fallahi described on the same platform how Labad was an example of being true to one’s word and taking action against injustice. Shehab Agency journalist Mohammed Haniya said on X that Labad was taking revenge, and that the “thousands upon thousands” seeking vengeance like Labad was not terrorism, but the result of Israel’s actions.
On August 31, Hamas confirmed the affiliation of another child soldier in its ranks, with the publication of martyr materials for 16-year-old Hazem Shadi Al-Arini.
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
