On 18th March 2025, four civilians from the same family were killed in an alleged Israeli bombardment in Rafah, southern Gaza. The four deceased individuals were identified as 69-year-old Ataf Abdullah Muhammad Abu Khatla (Umm Yasser); her daughter, 39-year-old Mervat Ibrahim Atiya Abu Khatla; her daughter-in-law, 38-year-old Rana Nasser Muhammad Abu Khatla (Umm Ibrahim); and Rana’s 16-year-old daughter, Retaj Raed Ibrahim Abu Khatla.

In a Facebook post, Surhan Ibrahim Abu Khatla mourned the loss of several close family members, including his “compassionate” mother Hajja Umm Yasser, his sister Mervat, his niece Retaj and her mother, Rana. Surhan Ibrahim expressed prayers for patience and strength in the face of suffering a great loss. The Facebook post also included a picture of his mother, Ataf, an elderly woman seated and wearing a beige headscarf. Another sibling of Mervat and Surhan, Mahmoud also mourned the loss of his mother, his sister, his niece Retaj, and Rana. He prayed for God’s mercy upon them all, and described Retaj as his beloved niece and someone especially “dear to [his] heart.”

In an emotional Facebook post, Umm Omar mourned the loss of her cousin Rana and her daughter Retaj; the news of their deaths had come “as a thunderbolt.” She expressed heartbreak and prayed for God’s mercy, and asked for strength and patience for Rana’s husband, family, and children. Ansam Qeshta grieved the sudden loss, writing that family members hadn’t had the chance to respond to a final message: “My heart, the last time you messaged me that you missed us, and I didn’t get to reply.”

All names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the eighth list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the first ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on March 24, 2025.

While the majority of sources did not list a suspected belligerent, Facebook account “Abu Khatla Family” wrote of the “brutal and treacherous aggression” and inclusion in the MoH list, which attributes those included to have been killed by Israeli forces” As such, this has been graded as a “likely strike.”