On the night of September 25th, 2024, four family members were reportedly killed due to an alleged Israeli raid on the town of Shaat in the Bekaa, Lebanon. The family members were identified as grandparents Zainab Zaiter, Afif Zaiter and their two grandchildren, Karar Turki Zaiter and Muhammad Turki Zaiter. Numerous social media sources confirmed the strike as part of a series of raids in the area.

Several social media accounts, including Bintjbeil, Zainab Zaiter, Youssef A Attar, Yasmin Fatima, and Zahraa.T. Zaiter, shared photos of the family members, accompanied by condolences mourning their loss and celebrating their memory.

Facebook user Bintjbeil remembered Afif as a “Hajj”, indicating he had completed the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, and undertaking highly prized by his community.

Youssef A Attar, a friend of Karar, mourned his loss and shared his grief over plans they had organised, that now would never come to fruition: “Why did you promise me two days ago that we would go hunting after the war and you told me that as soon as the war ends I want to come and hunt at your place? I am still waiting for you.”

Photos shared of the family show an elderly couple, Zainab and Afif, and two young men. Karar is the elder, while Muhammad appears as a teenager. Photographs shared by a Facebook user also named Zainab Zaiter showed the elder Zainab in a floral-printed hijab sitting next to Afif in a black sweatshirt; another shows Karar in a white t-shirt, and another shows a smiling Muhammad in a panda-printed t-shirt.

Abu Ali Al-Attar shared a video on Facebook on the 27th of September, 2024, documenting the funeral procession for the victims of the Shaat raid.

Zeinab Hajj Hassan shared a post on Facebook describing the devastating night in the Bekaa region. She wrote, “If only people knew how we spent this night in the Bekaa. Baalbek-Hermel is being destroyed. We don’t have a safe area. Our situation is tragic.” She highlighted the alarming conditions: “We lack services and mechanisms to remove the rubble. The world is under siege, and we are digging with our hands.” Yasmin Fatima also mentioned the situation in Shaath on Facebook, announcing  “the killing of Abu Turki Zaiter and his wife and his two grandsons Kara and Muhammed.” She also restated that “there was no mechanism to remove the rubble” but that people were “working with their hands.”

Lebanese Forces USA, a US-based civil group, published a video on Facebook, showing piles of rubble following the alleged strike on the town of Shaat in the Bekaa and also calling for blood donations in several hospitals as well as tools and machinery to remove debris. Ma32oul, Lebanon and Al-Hadath, Lebanon, shared a video on Facebook showing efforts to remove the rubble in Shaat after the alleged Israeli raid.

Abu Ali Al-Attar shared on X, formerly Twitter, an image depicting white smoke rising in the distance and a short video showing residents and aid personnel working through the night amid the rubble of a destroyed building.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the airstrike to the Israeli military.