On Tuesday, 18th March 2025, at around dawn, a senior member of Hamas’ military wing Khamis Jumaa Barhoum (also known as Abu Obaidah) was killed alongside 17 family members from three generations, including six women and nine children, in an alleged Israeli strike on a tent housing the Barhoum family on Street 5 west of Khan Younis.

According to a post by Sayed Alhtyny, “dozens” of the Barhoum family members were killed on that night. Other sources emphasized that two “entire families” of Khamis and Salama Barhoum were killed and “erased from the population registry.”

According to Ynet News and Twitter/X user @MiddleEastBuka, Khamis Barhoum was the deputy commander of the Rafah Brigade under Mohammed Shabaneh and was allegedly responsible for the massacre at Kerem Shalom during the October 7 attack. Based on this information, Airwars has classified him as a militant.

Multiple sources reported an Israeli airstrike targeting a tent sheltering displaced civilians west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The tent was located on Street 5 and housed members of the extended Barhoum family, many of whom had previously evacuated from other areas in Gaza due to ongoing military operations. Local sources noted that three generations of the family were present in the tent at the time, including six women and nine children. Barhoum’s wife, children, and brother were among those killed.

First to report the incident was @PallinfoAr on March 18th, 2025, at 8.59 am, with a picture of a list of 15 names, all of whom were members of the Barhoum family. Several casualties were reportedly women and children, including a young girl shown in a pre-strike photograph wearing a blue jacket, a pink dress, and holding a light.

Most of the earlier reports stated “15 Martyrs from the Barhoum family were killed,” while later reports stated 16 or 17 civilians were killed. Alarabiya Palestine reported images from a notebook containing the “names of two entire families from the Barhoum Family who were killed” in the alleged Israeli bombing. In addition to Barhoum, Airwars researchers identified the names of 17 family members killed.

45-year-old Khamis Jumaa Salama Barhoum (Abu Obaidah) was killed alongside his 39-year-old wife, Hanaa Ala Shahdahi Barhoum, and their six children: 15-year-old son Obaidah Khamis Jumaa Barhoum, 18-year-old daughter Aya Khamis Jumaa Barhoum, 10-year-old daughter Layan Khamis Jumaa Barhoum, 16-year-old daughter Habiba Khamis Jumaa Barhoum, seven-year-old son Mohammed Khamis Jumaa Barhoum, and five-year-old son Ali Khamis Jumaa Barhoum.

The brother of Khamis, 47-year-old Salama Jumaa Salama Barhoum (Abu Karim), was killed alongside his 42-year-old wife, Suha Alai Shahdah Barhoum (Umm Karim), and their two sons and three daughters: 20-year-old Karim Salama Jumaa Barhoum, six-year-old Abd al-Rahman Salama Jumaa Barhoum, 18-year-old Alaa (La) Salama Jumaa Barhoum, 16-year-old Raghad Salama Jumaa Barhoum, and 13-year-old Shahad Salama Jumaa Barhoum.

Suhaila Ahmed Abdallaha Barhoum was also killed, along with her son, 16-year-old Mohammad Sami Jumaa Barhoum, and an adult woman, Buthaina Barhoum (Umm Omar).

On Facebook, Rami Saleh Zourab extended his condolences to Dr. Ali Barhoum, the father of the sisters Hanaa and Suhaa Barhoum, on the occasion of their death along with their spouses and children. He wrote, “May God reward you greatly, ease your suffering, and forgive your martyrs. May God have mercy on them, expand their abode, and honor their entrance. May God unite us with them in His abode of mercy.” Hanaa was married to Khamis and Suhaa was married to Salama.

Salama Barhoum was the principal of Rafah High School. He was remembered in a Facebook tribute by Hussam Abo Taha as the “kind man”, and by Dewan Al Zourab as “the educator of generations.” In an image shared by Dewan Al Zourab on Facebook, the late Salama is seen as a middle-aged man in glasses, wearing a brown sweater with geometrical patterns and a beige jacket, standing at a seashore. The wife of Salama, Suha Barhoum, was remembered in a video shared by “Dar Al-Itqan for Quran Education – Administration” Facebook account. She was shown reciting the Quran and being surrounded by small children. She was referred to as the “mother of orphans and the poor, and guardian of the people of the Qur’an.”

Habiba Khamis Jumaa Barhoum was remembered in the Facebook post by Majdi Jumaa Barhoum, a surviving brother of Khamis and Salama. He described his niece as a devout Muslim: “By God, she doesn’t leave a night without a share of prayer. She fasts on Mondays, Thursdays, and the three white days of every month. She lived with the Quran, reciting and memorizing it, and God honored her with memorizing the Holy Quran on May 4, 2024.”

Majdi Jumaa Barhoum also shared an image of Khamis’ two sons, Obaidah and Mohammed. Two boys were pictured sitting on the floor. The elder son, Obaidah, was wearing a grey sportsuit, while the younger, Mohammed, was wearing a green hoodie and black trousers.

In another post, Majdi shares a picture of three boys – Khamis’ sons Mohammed and Ali, and Salama’s son Abdul Rahman, all three of them sitting on the floor. Majdi also shared a picture of Mohammed and Layan, calling them “birds of paradise.” Layan was dressed in a black-and-white striped dress with a black belt, and Mohammed was wearing a short-sleeved light-green shirt.

Where possible, the names of the victims have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023, the MoH has released eight lists, along with an additional list of medical professionals, which was released on September 17, 2024. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the eighth “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on March 24, 2025.

Visual evidence shared by multiple news outlets and social media users, such as @Hakeam_ps, depicted the aftermath of the strike. Images showed fire and rubble.

Where possible, names of victims were cross-checked against fatality records released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH). Airwars’ researchers ascertained the Barhoum family members’ ages using the lists, matching individuals to entries in the eight MoH list released on March 23, 2025. Airwars prioritizes the first appearance of a name across these lists for consistency.

According to the Facebook post by Fawzy Barhoum, the strike happened at dawn. The Facebook post by Howiyya claimed that the strike happened without prior warning.