Shortly before 2 PM on Friday, September 27, 2024, Sheikh Hussein Talal Jaffal, a member of Hezbollah, was killed alongside his wife and four children after an alleged Israeli airstrike hit their home. A number of family members were also reportedly injured. The family’s home was in the town of Rashaf in the Bint Jbeil District of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.

There are varying reports about the number of civilians killed in the strike. While many sources listed six members of the family as killed, Creative News on X – quoting the Lebanese News Agency – suggested that the home housed seven. LebTalks on X reported seven people killed. Jordan’s Petra News Agency stated that alongside Sheikh Hussein’s death, eight other family members were either killed or injured.

The exact time of the strike is unknown. However, Ali Kobeissi on Facebook noted that it happened during the day, and Twitter/X account @PalinfoAr reported the incident at 2:14 PM,  @shaabradio at 2:13 PM with the marking “urgent,” and @kalemsiyasilb even earlier, at 2:01 PM. The family was set to be buried on Sunday, September 29.

The identified victims were Sheikh Hussein Talal Jaffal, reportedly the Imam of the town of Blida, alongside his wife Malak Mahmoud Qubaisi, their daughters Fatima and Zainab, and their sons Ali and Muhammad. A number of civilians were reportedly injured as well.

In regard to Sheikh Hussein Jaffal, whose full name was Hussein Talal Jaffal, one image posted online by Hussein Fawwaz on Facebook showed Jaffal in military uniform, wearing a white turban and dark green keffiyeh, and carrying a rifle. Fawwaz captioned the picture with a quote attributed to Sheikh Hussein Jaffal: “Tomorrow, when I am martyred, write above this picture of mine: Martyred in the path of God, on the path of truth.”

In another post, Adel Taher described Sheikh Hussein Jaffal as “the imam of the Blida mosque and a Hezbollah leader,” posting a video from Al-Hadath Lebanon, a news page affiliated with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya. The Al-Hadath news anchor said the following: “Before we reach the end of this hour, we see this picture that Al-Hadath correspondent Nahed Youssef talked about a little while ago, about the killing of the imam of his town, Blida, the leader in Hezbollah, Sheikh Jaffal, by an Israeli bombardment. So this picture that we are seeing now is of the leader in Hezbollah, Sheikh Jaffal, who was killed by an Israeli bombardment.”

Mouhamad Jaffal also shared a video of Sheikh Hussein, captioning it as a testament to his role as “a companion to the fighters who did not abandon the battlefield.”  Based on this sourcing and evidence, and specifically the image showing Hussein in a military uniform and carrying a rifle, Airwars considers Hussein Talal Jaffal to have been a militant, and as such he is not included in the civilian harm count.

News of the family’s killing prompted an outpouring of mourning across social media, with relatives and community members sharing their grief.

A relative, Jina Mustafa, wrote: “With great pride and honor, I mourn the passing of my mother’s cousin and her family… This faithful, pure, patient, and jihadist family, both the men and women among them, it is only natural that their end would be martyrdom. They wanted to stay in their village, “Rshaf,” until they ascended to their Creator in the most honourable and noble way.”

The term “jihadist family” here is likely referred to in metaphorical terms to denote a family that has sacrificed their lives for a cause. Jina also shared a screenshot from what appears to be a WhatsApp message from Malak Qubaisi shortly before her and her family’s killing. The message, accompanied with smiling and laughing emojis, reads: “It seems we will be martyred shortly. Forgive us, everyone, no matter what.”

A number of social media users shared a collage of pictures of the family, including Malak’s brother Rabab, who wrote: “With deep pride, we announce the martyrdom of my dear brother-in-law, Sheikh Hussein Jaffal, and my sister Malak Qubaisi, along with their four children: Ali, Fatima, Zainab, and Muhammad. O Lord, take until You are pleased. Congratulations to you, by God, what a great victory you have attained.”

The picture showed Sheikh Hussein alongside his son Muhammad, a smiling young boy climbing a tree in a striped light and dark blue t-shirt, and Ali, a young man or teenager wearing a shirt, with the sea in the background of his photo. In another post by Ahmad Murtada, he described Ali as cheerful and polite. The collage also includes images of three women in black hijab, with their faces intentionally blurred. It is customary, when posting pictures of devout women online, to blur or obscure their faces as a sign of respect and privacy. The age of the daughters was therefore difficult to ascertain.

While the exact ages of Ali, Fatima, Zainab, and Muhammad are unknown, images of the siblings seem to suggest that they were children when they were killed. They’ve been recorded accordingly. This will be updated should additional information become available.

According to Ali Kobeise, likely a relative of Malak’s, Malak became a “shahid(a)” or “martyr” like her brother Majid, suggesting that he was killed at an earlier point.

Most sources identified a belligerent, attributing the strike to the Israeli military.