Awni Eldous

Awni El-Dous (; 2010 or 2011 – 7 October 2023) was a Palestinian YouTuber. His content centered around making gaming videos without commentary, with videos on games such as PUBG Mobile and Pro Evolution Soccer 2017. His content gained popularity after he was killed by an Israeli airstrike on the first night of the Gaza war.

Life and family His father was a computer engineer, which gave Awni his love for computers. Awni would copy his father, pulling apart laptops and attempting to put them back together. In photos shared on the Facebook page of his school, Safad Primary School (A) for Boys, he is shown standing in front of a blackboard holding a motherboard, leading a lesson on computer technology as a part of the Little Teachers Initiative. A member of his family called him "engineer Awni" because of his love for computers.

His channel was created on 2 May 2020, however he didn't upload his first gaming video until 12 December that year. On 18 August 2022, he made a short video thanking his fans for helping him reach 1,000 subscribers, "So now folks, let me introduce myself: I am a Palestinian from Gaza, aged 12 years old. The goal of this channel is to reach 100,000 subscribers. And 500,000, then 1 million, and God willing to reach 10 million subscribers with your support and love".

Ashraf El-Dous, a distant relative of Awni who works as a programmer and helps to run several YouTube channels, stated that Awni would frequently come to him for advice on his channel, with Awni referring to him as "brother Ashraf". He told the BBC "His ambition was to be my competitor or colleague - He created a YouTube channel. It wasn't that big, it didn't have any big views. Every start-up is hard at the beginning." His aunt, Ala'a, said that he idolised YouTubers who made his hobby their career, saying "He wanted to be like them - to have followers and fans". Awni lived on a floor with his mother, father, two older sisters and two younger brothers, all of whom were killed in the bombing. When interviewed by the BBC, he said "It was very touching to hear that [El-Dous] looked up to me as a role model." By 7 November, his channel reached around 1.17 million subscribers. In December, the number has increased to more than 1.5 million.

After his death, in December 2023, Al Jazeera Arabic journalist, Ahmed Hamoush, wrote an op-ed on behalf of El-Dous to former President of the United States, Barack Obama.