A Six-Year-Old Girl Has Died After a Beach Trip That Killed Her Whole Family

Saja El-Khawas, a six-year-old girl, has died in hospital three days after being pulled from the sea off Shoreham, West Sussex, according to The Guardian. Her death on Friday followed the deaths of her sister Sara, 14, and her parents Hassan El-Khawas, 55, and Zeina Alayn, 37, who all died on Tuesday 18 August 2026 in the same incident.

Saja had been in hospital in critical condition since being rescued from the water. Her identity and death were confirmed in a legal notice from lawyers acting for Guy's and St Thomas' NHS foundation trust, as well as the Palestinian Forum in Britain. The Palestinian embassy confirmed that Hassan El-Khawas was a British citizen of Palestinian descent.

The incident happened on Tuesday afternoon. Emergency services were called to help four people struggling in the water near Shoreham Fort. Police, ambulances, coastguard crews, and a lifeboat all came to the scene. Sussex Police said the family had travelled from their home in London to visit Shoreham and went into the water from the beach around 2pm before getting into trouble.

The investigation is still open. Sussex Police said that after looking at CCTV footage and speaking to witnesses, their current view is that this was a tragic accident and no one else was involved. The family's next of kin have been informed and are receiving support from officers.

Sussex Police Chief Superintendent James Collis offered condolences and asked that the family be left to grieve in privacy.

The broader context here is that losing four family members in a single beach incident raises questions about how safe the water is at Shoreham Fort. This part of the coastline is known for tidal conditions and currents that can change quickly. The police view that it was an accident is based on CCTV and witness accounts, not guesswork. But because the investigation is still open, that view could change if new evidence comes to light.

The Palestinian embassy and the Palestinian Forum in Britain were involved because of the family's background. Community groups like these often step in to help when something tragic happens to families with shared heritage. Hassan El-Khawas was a British citizen, and the family lived in London. They had simply travelled to the Sussex coast for a day at the beach, something many families do, and it ended in terrible loss.

Shoreham Fort is located where the River Adur meets the sea. When river water and ocean tides come together in the same place, it can create conditions that are hard for swimmers to handle. This is especially true when the tide is low, because channels get deeper and currents speed up. These conditions would be part of the investigation into how the family got into difficulty and could not get back to shore.

The three days between the rescue and Saja's death show how serious the medical situation was. When someone nearly drowns, doctors have to deal with oxygen deprivation — meaning the brain and other organs may not have gotten enough oxygen — and damage that can take days to fully assess.

For Sussex Police, the priority now is finishing the investigation to either confirm or change their view that this was an accident. For the family and their communities, the focus is on grieving four lives lost in a single afternoon on a West Sussex beach.