On October 28th 2024, an alleged Israeli strike reportedly hit the Afana family home in the Al Faluga area, north of the Gaza Strip, killing at least two female civilians, both children and injuring at least two people, including an infant. The two civilians killed were identified as 17-year-old Saja Shaaban Mohammed Afana and 1-year-old Nesreen Mohamed Shaaban Afana.

The day of the incident, several sources on X/Twitter and Facebook reported the attack on the Afana family home. Nashet Gazawi (Facebook) and @HmdAbw36282 (X/Twitter) shared a picture of a baby being given first aid in a hospital following the alleged strike.

One day later, Eid S M Afana, mourned the death of his sister, Saja Shaaban Mohammed Afana, and the death of his niece, Nesreen Mohamed Shaaban Afana, on Facebook. In that same post, he wished a speedy recovery for his “siblings in intensive care” – since Eid Afana is an adult, it seems unlikely that the injured baby is his sibling.

The Al Afana Tribal Council also mourned the deaths of the victims on a Facebook post, and attributed the strike to the Israeli military, writing that Saja Shaaban Muhammad Afanah and Nasreen Muhammad Shaaban Afanah “were martyred as a result of the unjust [Israeli] aggression on the family home”.

Both names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released July 24th 2024.