The first day of the New Year 2009, the Israeli Air Force launched its cruel onslaught on Gaza Strip and heavily bombed the house of the renowned Palestine leader, Nizar Rayan. Israeli jet fighters fired an F-16 missile at his house, ripping him along with other thirteen members of his family to shreds.

Sixteen-year-old Ghasaan, was hanging out with his siblings on the roof of their home When an Israeli jet fighter fired numerous missiles at their home tearing all the residents apart and turning the house into a heap of rubble. All the family members were buried under the ruins of their home which was once full of love and joy, including Ghasaan, the second-grade student in high school.

Ghassan was about to graduate from High school. He studied harder that year. He asked his father to get him a tutor to help him with his studies. Both Ghasaan and his father were happy that Ghassan was getting better at school. Ghasaan tried to be an excellent student to follow his dear father’s steps and accomplish success in both studying and building a good career. 

His brother Belal said: "We have seen both innocence and responsibility in Ghassan as young man. The spirit of childhood never abandoned his character, yet he was very responsible and reasonable in all his actions. He was a diligent young man and he did his best to lead the life his father wished for him."

Ghasaan was fond of playing with young children all the time; his name was the first word that almost all the children of his family uttered. One could hardly see him at home without tenderly holding a child here and there. Belal’s little girl, Mona, enjoyed a great deal of her uncle’s love, and his name was her first words. When asked about her uncle, Ghasaan, young Mona would innocently answer: "My dear uncle is in Paradise”. Ghasaan’s sister-in-law described him: "Ghasaan was really fond of children, he used to tend, play, and take them to buy grocery. He used to keep some candy in his pocket to give his little dear friends."

Sixteen-year-old Ghasaan, lost sight in one of his eyes during the last agonizing events in the village of Beit Hanoun. His brother, Belal, said, after the horrific accident that caused blindness to Ghassan's eye: "Our parents felt awfully sorry for him as he was too young to face just a tragedy. He was only a sixteen-year-old kid. Courageous, Ghasaan endured his calamity with a brave heart. The first thing he did was thanking Allah for sparing him the other eye so that he could see the criminals who had done this to him and he would take his avenge”.

“May Allah be pleased with you, words that Ghasaan insisted to hear from his mother, bearing in mind the importance of filial obedience. The loving mother used to invoke Allah to be pleased with her children and to grant them deep-knowledge and to be righteous Muslims.

Ghasaan was an obedient child who loved helping others, he was the only one who would rush to buy to his father’s wives or his sisters-in-law anything they wanted without complaining. His sister-in-law said: "He had taken burdens or responsibilities over his shoulders. I will miss him so much!”

Ghassan was a good friend and always he had time to spend with his dear friends. After Fajr prayer, he used to hang out with them in the mosque until school time. They would attend religious lessons in the mosque next-door after Fajr prayer and between Maghrib and ‘Isha’s prayers. Ghasaan’s sister-in-law said: “He was so close to his mosque-mates, he used to spend as much time as he could in various activities and in studying as well."