Who was Tom Hurndall, the British volunteer killed in Gaza by Israel 20 years ago?
Who was Tom Hurndall, the British volunteer killed in Gaza by Israel 20 years ago?
The New Arab reflects on the life and legacy of Tom Hurndall, the young man who ventured into the Gaza Strip with a camera in hand.
4 min read
On January 14, 2004, the world mourned the tragic death of Tom Hurndall [Getty]
On January 14, 2004, the world mourned the tragic death of Tom Hurndall, a compassionate British photography student who had dedicated his life to activism.
Volunteering in the heart of the Gaza Strip as part of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), his life took an unexpected turn after he was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper.
To mark the 20th anniversary of his killing, The New Arab reflects on the life and legacy of Tom Hurndall, the young man who ventured into the Gaza Strip amid an Israeli offensive, with a camera in hand and an unwavering commitment to human rights.
Student turns activist
Tom was born on 27 November 1981, in London. He was a photography student at Manchester Metropolitan University, an ISM volunteer and an activist against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
He had volunteered in several countries across the region, including Iraq, Jordan and the Gaza Strip. In early 2003, Hurndall joined the anti-war movement against the invasion of Iraq, relocating there before moving to Jordan to contribute to medical aid for Iraqi refugees.
He then joined the ISM - an NGO advocating non-violent protest against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
Tom travelled to Rafah in the Gaza Strip in April 2003 with the ISM, which had been documenting Israel's human rights abuses against Palestinians and working with local Palestinian communities.
In his correspondence with his family back home, Tom shared photographs of Israeli forces and Palestinians.
In his journals, he wrote: "No one could say I wasn’t seeing what needs to be seen now", according to a biography written by his mother.
Tom referred to the killing of 23-year-old Rachel Corrie, who was crushed to death in March 2003 by an Israeli armoured bulldozer for refusing to let Israeli forces destroy a Palestinian house.
"I wonder how few or many people heard it on the news and just counted it as another death, just another number..." he wrote.
His killing
On 11 April 2003, Tom, along with other ISM activists had set up a peace tend on a road in Rafah to stop an Israeli tank patrol from going through.
Israeli snipers began shooting in their direction when Tom noticed three Palestinian children standing from fear in the line of fire and sought to protect them.
He was targetted by an Israeli sniper, Taysir Hayb, despite wearing an orange vest to make himself visible as an unarmed international volunteer.
Tom was shot in the head and fell into a coma, and was subsequently transferred to a hospital in London for specialised medical care. Despite the efforts of medical professionals, he never regained consciousness.
On January 14, 2004, at the age of 22, Tom died, leaving behind questions about Israel's ongoing targeting of individuals who are identifiable as civilians, including medical staff and journalists.
Peace activist Raphael Cohen, who was with Tom on the day that he was shot, said: "On the very street where Tom was shot, two children had been shot just days before.
"This is why he and the rest of the group went to that spot, to protest against the shooting of children as they played outside their homes. There has never been any investigation into the shootings of those children."
Investigation, trial, and verdict
Under mounting pressure from his parents and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Israel's Judge Advocate General Menachem Finkelstein ordered a military police investigation into Tom's killing.
The investigation led to the indictment of Hayb, who initially claimed to have fired in proximity to an unarmed civilian as a "deterrent".
As the trial unfolded, Hayb's testimony changed, leading to charges of manslaughter, obstruction of justice and false testimony, among others.
In 2005, Hayb was convicted and sentenced to eleven and a half years, later shortened for "good behaviour". He only served six and a half years before it was declared that he "no longer poses any danger".
According to the Telegraph, Hurndall’s sister Sophie said that her family was not informed of Al-Hayb’s release.
"We have not had time to regroup or work out what is going on," she said. "We have barely had time to process the news and we all feel angry and shocked."
She said they had long feared he would be released early: "We have had to deal with cover-ups and lies and a total lack of accountability throughout – and this is in line with that. It’s symptomatic."
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