At dawn on August 18, 2024, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit two apartments in the Al-Zayan building, on Al-Houja (Al-Hawja) Street near Al-Khulafa Mosque in Jabalia Refugee Camp, north of the Gaza Strip. One of the apartments belonged to the Tabeel and Abu Qara families. At least four members of the Dahman family were killed, while at least 19 others were injured.

The victims were named as 74-year-old Afifa Khalil Dahman (Umm Muhammad), her grandson, 23-year old Ahmed Abdullah Tbeil, her granddaughter 18-year-old Afifa Muhammad Dahman and Afifa Muhammad’s daughter, one-year-old Marwa Essam Dahman.

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 a number of 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 sixth “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on September 16, 2024. The age of Ahmed has been found by cross-checking names against lists of fatalities shared online by Genocide in Gaza, which has a list of “martyrs” of Israeli forces.

The incident was widely reported by many news outlets. Al-Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif visited the site and reported from the scene, while the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA), citing local sources, stated that ambulance and rescue teams recovered the bodies of four victims and a number of injured, including women and children, from beneath the rubble.

Initial reports described “several” injuries, while later updates indicated that the number of injured rose to at least 19. According to Al-Jazeera Channel, the wounded were transferred to Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital. One child shown in video footage was initially brought to the hospital alive but later died, reportedly due to the lack of adequate medical equipment and capacity. Video footage also showed children receiving treatment in overcrowded medical facilities. Another video posted by @Zara_2088 showed workers pulling people out from the rubble.

Numerous friends and relatives wrote heartfelt messages to bid farewell to Afifa Khalil. In mourning the loss of his “dear mother,” @Mustafa Dahman also grieved the deaths of Ahmed and the younger Afifa, remembering Marwa as an “angel of paradise.”

Twitter/X user @Anas Alkasji announced the death of his great-aunt, stating that she and her grandchildren were killed while sleeping in their home, and offered condolences to the Dahman family. @Abood Dahman also confirmed the death of Umm Muhammad, the wife of his cousin, and expressed prayers of mercy and patience for the family. @Jumana Asaad mourned her aunt, describing her passing as deeply sorrowful and shared an image of her where she can be seen as an elderly woman wearing a white hijab and dark clothing. Additionally, @Mahmoud Al-Ustad shared a personal memory, noting how “just yesterday she was speaking to me, telling me how much she missed my voice.”

The Facebook page “The British Kindergarten – the second branch of Tel Al-Zaatar” described her as a dedicated educator with a long career in teaching, praising her moral character and her impact on generations of students: “We do not exaggerate if we say that education has lost a pillar in morals and education.” She had been the “best educator,” with a history of “support for teachers and students.”

Afifa Muhammad and her daughter Marwa were mourned by husband and father Essam Dahman. With their deaths, Essam wrote, he had “lost the dearest things [he] possessed: [his] wife Afifa and [his] beloved daughter Marwa.” He also shared a photograph of the three of them smiling together in a selfie, despite the rubble behind them. Afifa is seen in a black hijab. The child Marwa was in her mother’s arms, with light brown hair and resembling her mother. A week later, Essam wrote that Afifa Muhammad and Marwa had “departed peacefully, without harming anyone.” Essam saw their deaths as evidence that “good people don’t last long.” He asked that “God [would] have mercy on the one who comforted my heart.”

Ahmed Abdullah Tbeil was also widely mourned on social media, with one sibling describing him as “a piece of my soul.” Darin Umm Ahmad Tbeil likened Ahmed’s death to a “wound that keeps reopening.” Many friends highlighted that he had recently graduated from university, sharing images from his graduation ceremony in which he was wearing a golden stole over a black robe. Friend @Munther Ali Abu Assi shared a video of Ahmed singing with a friend at his graduation ceremony, acknowledging that “exactly one year ago, he was honored with a certificate of this world, and today he is honored with a certificate of the Hereafter.” At least in death, Munther hoped, there would be “no toil, no weariness, no worry, no grief, no sadness.” Other images showed him smiling, with a black beard and hair, and dressed in black. According to Ahmed’s profile on the website Genocide in Gaza, he was a software developer.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces. According to the website Genocide in Gaza, the strike happened without prior warning.