An alleged Israeli airstrike on the home of the Awad family in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the central Gaza Strip at 14:15 on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, killed at least 25 identified civilians, including five women and twelve children, and injured at least three others. The attack killed three engineers, a teacher, an artist, and a number of academic staff.

Social media posts documented the incident and its aftermath, with a tweet by @TkrytyMr21896 reporting that 12 charred bodies were recovered, referencing the hashtags #Gaza_under_bombardment and #GazaGenocide. On his Facebook page, the account HR92.7 confirmed that 12 bodies were retrieved from the rubble, while Yousef Bin Mustafa Al-Buhaisi posted a video showcasing charred bodies and confirmed the death of 12 people. Mahmoud Bakr Al-Loh reported that the victims of the bombing were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and Sada Al-Maghazi Camp said 21 members of the Awad/Shaaban family were killed.

Social media posts by family members and friends and the list provided by the Facebook user Mohammed Shaban helped to identify the names of the 25 family members killed.

Mohammed Shaban’s sister, 32-year-old Dr. Sumaya Bassem Rajab Shaaban, was killed alongside her 32-year-old husband, engineer Youssef Awad Rajab Shaaban, and their youngest two-year-old son, Jad Youssef Awad Shaaban. Mohammed Shaban mentioned in his post that Sumaya was Dr. Shaaban, but it is not clear whether he was referring to her medical profession or academic title.

Brother of Sumaya, 30-year-old engineer Ibrahim Bassem Rajab Shaaban was killed along with his 28-year-old wife, Aya Adel Ahmed Abu Shaera, and their daughters, infant (less than one year) Salma Ibrahim Shaaban and four-year-old Randa Ibrahim Shaaban.

Diala Ayesh shared a happy family photo of her cousin Ibrahim with his two daughters, holding the infant Salma in his hands, and an older woman. According to Diala, this photo was sent by him half an hour before their house was bombed, “to reassure the family that they were fine.” She also wrote that the mother of Ibrahim and Sumaya Randa Shaaban and their father Bassem Shaaban were injured in the strike.

Facebook user Abdel Rahman Ghanem Astal also mourned the death of Ibrahim Shaaban, his childhood friend, and his family. He shared the image of the smiling Ibrahim in a white shirt and a black blazer.

Facebook user Lifta Voice mourned the death of Ibrahim and Sumaya and their families, sharing a collage of the victims’ photos, among them those of Randa, Salma and Sumaya.

A young mother, artist, and academic lecturer at Al-Aqsa University, 36-year-old Nesma Adel Abu Shaera was killed alongside her five-year-old daughter, Habiba Muhammad Awad Shaaban. According to the website “Genocide in Gaza”, Nesma was 36 years old, married, and worked as Assistant Head of the Department of Fine Arts and Graphic Design at Al-Aqsa University. According to the post by Mohannad Awad, Nesma’s husband Muhammad Shaaban was in intensive care.

Two Facebook users, Zohor Samhan and Mohammed Alhaj, confirmed the death of Nesma, having written tributes to her. Her colleague Mohammed wrote, “I hesitated to publish the news until I was sure… but unfortunately it seems that the news is true… Fellow artist and academic lecturer at Al-Aqsa University, Nesma Abu Shaira, is a martyr… To God we belong and to Him we shall return.” He also added her image – a young woman wearing a brown dress and a grey hijab, sitting at a desk and drawing faces.  Nesma’s student Zohor lamented, “Professor and artist Nesma Abu Shaira, my dear doctor. To God’s mercy, my love ????Allah is my suffice, and the best deputy. May God have mercy on you, my love, Nesma Abu Shaira.”

The deadly strike killed Mohammed Shaban’s aunt, 53-year-old Professor Khalidiya Rajab Ali Aodh, her 55-year-old husband Jihad Muhammad Abdalrahamun Awad, and their children: the sons, 25-year-old Muhammad Jihad Muhammad Awad and 28-year-old engineer  Obaida Jihad Muhammad Awad, and the daughters – 27-year-old Nour (Nooralhada) Jihad Muhammad Awad and 12-year-old Janah Jihad Muhammad Awad. The 15-year-old nephew of Jihad Muhammad Sobhi Muhammad Awad was also among the victims of the attack.

The Directorate of Education mourned the death of Jihad Muhammad Awad, a teacher at  Rudolf Walter Basic School “A” for Boys, who was killed with his family. The institution shared a number of his photos. One depicted him as a middle-aged stout man in a blue checkered shirt standing in front of a school desk, and another holding a diploma along with other teachers. Other images portrayed him with colleagues and pupils.

According to Mohammed Shaban, his “beloved cousin,” Muhammad Jihad Muhammad Awad, got married just two weeks before his death. Other relatives killed included extended family members, including four siblings:  14-year-old girl Basma Iyad Rajab Shaaban, her 13-year-old sister Bisan Iyad Rajab Shaaban, her 12-year-old brother Abdullah Iyad Rajab Shaaban, and her nine-year-old brother Mustafa Iyad Rajab Shaaban.

39-year-old woman, Raba (Ruba) Awad Rajab Shaaban, was killed along with her three younger brothers: 19-year-old Ahmed Awad Rajab Shaaban, 17-year-old Yahya Awad Rajab Shaaban, and 12-year-old Abdul Karim Awad Rajab Shaaban.

The names of all the victims except one have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023, the MoH has released six lists, along with an additional list of medical professionals, which was released on September 17, 2024. Airwars matches individuals to the first list where their names appeared. Regarding this incident, most of the names were matched to the first “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on October 26, 2023.

Other posts updated the rescue efforts, reporting that some bodies were still under the rubble.

According to the post by Mohammed Shaban, the strike occurred at 14:15 local time.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.