Samar Osama al-Hallaq, 29 years old, was the boys’ mother. She was 8 months pregnant with another child on the way. Samar was involved with the Palestinian History Tapestry Project. The project aims to support the traditional craft of Palestinian needlewomen and record Palestine’s history through the sewing of a tapestry.

The boys’ aunt, Hala Akram al-Hallaq, 27 years old, studied English Language and Literature at al-Aqsa University in Gaza. She also served as a project assistant to UNRWA in 2009.