On Monday 23rd of September, 2024, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit a house in the town of Al-Maaysra in Jbeil, Southern Lebanon, killing at least five civilians, and one potential militant – all members of the same family.

Those killed were named online as: Hajja Saadi Ayoub Umm Wahid, Mohammed Hassan Hussein, his wife Maha Badr El Din, his sister Samira Hassan Hussein, Samah Hussein Mazraani, and Hawra Ghassan Hussein. One source also reported that Amir Wissam Hussein, a young boy, was missing.

Writing in tribute to the family, Hussien Kteish posted on Facebook, saying “Seven moons joined the caravan of martyrs.” He went on to name Hajja Saadi, Mohammed, Maha, Samira, Samah, and Hawra and also noted that Amir was missing. Hussien attributed the incident to “a missile from the treacherous enemy” which had followed the family “to their place of displacement.”

Included in Hussien’s post were six photographs. One shows a very young girl wearing a red dress, a matching red headband, and red shoes. Another shows a couple, likely Mohammed and Maha, posing together and smiling towards the camera. Two other images shows women smiling softly towards the camera, with a third showing an older woman, likely Hajja Saadi, also smiling towards the camera. The sixth image depicts a young boy with dirty blonde hair, likely Amir.

While Hussien referenced seven “martyrs,” Amir was the seventh named individual shared by Hussien. As such, Airwars has included Amir in the upper count of civilians killed, and excluded him from the lower count.

Rola Hussein also mourned the deaths of Mohammed and Maha, who according to her Facebook post, had fled from Houla to the town of Al-Maaysra in Jbeil. Writing in tribute, Rola wrote that “Maha Bader al-Din and her children, her family were…martyred in the airstrikes.” Based on surnames, it is likely that Hawra and Amir were the children of Mohammed and Maha, but this is not definitive. Rola further noted that Samira was a “hard-working girl” who worked in agriculture in Houla. Rola finished her post, writing, “Of course, we are in a lot of pain…”

In writing of Mohammed, Rola added that “Months ago, Mohammed Hussein was targeted while driving his van in Al-Hujair, and barely survived, losing his limbs. He had prosthetic limbs fitted to continue his life, but today he was martyred.” The post from Hussien Kteish, dated two days after the strike, referenced Mohammed as a “mujahid”. The term mujahid in Arabic often indicates connection to armed groups, though can also be used to describe individuals who more generally fight for their faith. No further information regarding potential militancy was included. Due to this reference, Mohammed’s status has been categorised as contested: Airwars has included him only in the upper fatality range for civilians and militants.

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