The Day Tom Hurndall Was Murdered

Tom Hurndall was murdered by an Israeli sniper while trying to help children to safety in the Gaza Strip.


Thomas "Tom" Hurndall (November 29, 1981 – January 13, 2004) was a British photography student, member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), and an activist against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

On April 11, 2003, he was shot in the head in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sniper, Taysir Hayb. According to witnesses, this occurred while he was acting “as a human shield, escorting children away from gunfire.”

Hurndall was left in a coma and died nine months later.

Hayb was convicted of manslaughter and obstruction of justice by an Israeli military court in April 2005 and sentenced to eight years in prison.

On April 10, 2006, a British inquest found that Hurndall had been "intentionally killed".



Tom Hurndall - Murdered by IDF - Related Footage