On 22 October 2024, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the home of the Ezz El-Din family (belonging to the late Khader Ezz El-Din) in the town of Tefahta in the Sidon district of Lebanon, killing at least 19 people, including six women and five children, who had gathered there to mourn the earlier death of Saeed Al-Hajj Khader Ezz El-Din.

Multiple sources, including a Facebook post from Ibrahim W. Wehbi, reported that at the time of the attack, the Ezz El-Din home was hosting a mourning celebration for the death of Saeed al-Hajj Khader Ezz El-Din, who had died prior to 22 October 2024. One Facebook post from Hassan Ammouri reported that the alleged Israeli airstrike wiped out an entire family, including the local Imam and, in Hassan’s words, “the best of the good young men.”

Initial reports from various sources, including the CivildefenseLB Facebook page, stated that 12 people had been killed and at least three injured in the attack, with search operations ongoing.   As the search operation continued, this number rose to at least 19 people killed in the alleged Israeli airstrike, as reported in sources, such as Tefffahta.com on Facebook. It is unclear if the three people originally reported as injured may have later succumbed to their injuries and added to the death toll. Teffahta.com also shared photos of a number of those reported to have been killed in the alleged Israeli airstrike.

Mohammed Khader Ezz El-Din, the son of Saeed al-Hajj Khader Ezz El-Din, reportedly died in the alleged Israeli attack on his home,  with multiple sources writing that he “refused to do anything but join his father on the day of his funeral.” Mohammed was a young man, likely in his late teens or early twenties. A post from Hassan Ammouri on Facebook wrote of Mohammed as riding a motorcycle and “distributing his sweet laughter and kindness to the world.”

Mohammed was reportedly a scout leader for the Imam Mahdi Scouts Association – Sector Four, according to a Facebook post from Tefahta’s Facebook page mourning his death. In the image attached, he is seen smiling, having a short haircut and a trimmed beard and wearing a scout uniform.

The attack took the lives of the two religious leaders.

His Eminence Ibrahim Yassin was killed in the attack alongside his wife, Hidaya Ezzedine and their son, a child Mohammad Ibrahim Yassin. Sayyid Ibrahim was described in a post from Mohammad Husain Ghandour on Facebook as “a brother to everyone, a friend to every friend.” It seems that Ibrahim may have been a religious leader, as multiple sources referred to him as His Excellency, and the post from Mohammad also mentioned his Friday sermons. According to a post from Zyad Ghanwy on Facebook, the family was from the town of Hawla in southern Lebanon. Zyad’s post also referred to Mohammad as a child.

A Facebook account Teffahta posted a photo of the late Hidaya, a middle-aged smiling woman dressed in a black burqa and holding a certificate in her hands.

His Eminence Sheikh Abdo Benjamin Abu Riya, the Imam for Tefahta, was also killed in the attack. Hassan Ammouri’s Facebook post mourned the passing of Abdo Abu Riya and the fact that he would not receive any more calls from Abdo to check on him or to spread reassurance amongst those in the village and check on everyone’s health. Another Facebook post from Mohammad Husain Ghandour described him as a “great educator” whose “dignity, calmness and serenity” would remain in the aftermath of his death.

A Facebook account Teffahta, commemorating his death, wrote: “Covenant.. To memorize the approach of scholars and the line of martyrs.” Abdo’s image wearing the preacher’s clothes and a white turban was also shared. He was a middle-aged man with a large forehead, dark eyes and eyebrows, and a dark thick beard.

Professor Malak Ahmad Ezz El-Din, a female teacher at Ghazieh Official High School, was reportedly killed in the alleged Israeli airstrike on Tefahta. A post from Marjeyoun Site via Facebook shared a message of mourning for Malak from the Association of Official Secondary Education Teachers. The Association reported that Malak taught Arabic language at Ghazieh Official Secondary School. The message from the Association directly blamed the attack on the Israeli military. A number of Malak’s teaching colleagues reshared the message alongside photos of Malak with other female teachers and/or students.

Malak was a middle-aged woman with a round face, large brown eyes, dressed ina  black burqa and wearing a brown hijab. In an image shared by Marjeyoun Site, she was captured standing next to another teacher and holding a certificate.

Yada Fatima Ahmad Ezz El-Din, her son, Muhammad Ali Kanyar, and her daughter, Sarah Ali Kanyar, were all reported dead as a result of the alleged Israeli airstrike. Various sources shared that Fatima was the wife of Ali Muhammad Ali Kanyar, who had allegedly also already died prior to 22 October 2024. A photo shared by multiple sources mourning the deaths of the family showed photos of Muhammad and Sarah, who were only children, likely no older than 10 years old. In another photo shared by the Facebook user Nahla Farhat, a smiling Fatima is pictured standing together with her children in front of the mosque.

A family of four was reportedly killed in the attack, including Ali Ahmed Ezz El-Din, who was killed along with his wife Zeina Taleb, their daughter, Malak Ali Ezz El-Din, and their son, Ahmed Ali Ezz-El Din. According to multiple sources and photographs shared in mourning of the family, Malak and Ahmed were only toddlers at the time of their death.

Facebook user Majed Taleb shared an emotional tribute to Zeina and her family, writing: “The news of your martyrdom is like the soul being torn from the body. I mourn you with a choked heart; my grief for you is eternal. There is no power or strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Almighty. My heart goes out to you, my sister. After a short while, you, your husband, your children, Ahmed and Malak, and my brother-in-law, the honorable martyr Ali Ezz El-Din. Congratulations to you, and may He grant you a place in His spacious Paradise. You deserve the blessed status, O our martyrs who are close to our hearts.” He also shared an image where a couple was standing in nature, holding their small children in their hands.

A woman Fadia Ezz El-Din, a young man Ali Mohammed Diaa, Professor Ahmed Ali Ezz El-Din, and a young man Rabi Ali Younis were all also reportedly killed in the alleged Israeli airstrike on the home.

A Facebook account Teffahta posted a photo of the late Fadia Ezz El-Din. She was a middle-aged woman wearing a dark-coloured hijab with ornaments in the image shared by the account.

In his emotional Facebook post, Hassan Ammouri wrote that Ali Mohammed Diaa was a “polite and humane young man and father,” who people would often see carrying his children through the village.  A Facebook account Teffahta posted a photo of the smiling Ali. He was a young man in his late 20s or early 30s with a receding hairline, dark eyes, and a dark trimmed beard dressed in a T-shirt with the inscription Kelme.

Speaking of Ahmed Ali Ezz El-Din, Hassan wrote that he was a Professor, and it was possibly his home which was the site of the attack, as Hassan said that the “house of pride and knowledge” was now “just rubble”. Hassan wrote of seeing Ahmed sitting outside the house, surrounded by the family and bringing ice cream for his grandchildren. Facebook account Teffahta called the late Ahmed “educator” and added his image, an elderly man with a bald head and a grey mustache holding a microphone in his hands.

Hassan reported that Rabi Ali Younis was a “sweet and helpful young man,” who could be seen riding around the village on a motorcycle at times. A Facebook account Teffahta posted a photo of the late Rabi. He was a middle-aged man dressed in some kind of uniform.

An elderly woman, Zainab Ali Ezz El-Din, and Hussein  Saleh Saleh are the final named victims of the alleged Israeli attack. A Facebook account Teffahta posted a photo of the late Zainab, wearing a black coat and a hijab.

Hassan Ammouri wrote in his Facebook post that Hussein often attended the mosque. A Facebook account Teffahta posted a headshot of the late Hussein, a middle-aged man with deep-set dark eyes and thick eyebrows, and prominent cheekbones.

Sources shared that the remains of the victims were collected in bags, suggesting that the destruction caused by the alleged airstrike was extreme and bodies were not able to be fully recovered. Images shared of the destroyed home by multiple sources, including a Facebook page Babliyati, showed piles of rubble and exposed metal and burnt-out brick at the site of the former family home.

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