On October 7, 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike which struck the home of the Abu Qouta family reportedly killed up to 24 civilians, including 18 civilian members of the Abu Qouta family and at six neighbors, and up to ten children and at least four woman, in addition to injuring 25 others. The home was located in the Al-Satriya neighborhood in the Al-Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, and was completely destroyed. Three other members of the Abu Quota were identified as militants and also killed.
Al Mezan reported that 17 civilians, including women and children, were killed by an Israeli attack on the home of the Abu Qouta in Rafah. At the time of reporting, there were still civilians under the rubble. Defense for Children Palestine identified that five children were among the 17 killed by an Israeli airstrike which fired one missile at the Shaboura refugee camp.
An AP News article provided details that the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to the neighbors of the Abu Qouta family and then launched a warning shot a short distance from Nasser Abu Qouta’s home, meant to convey that they should evacuate. However, once Abu Qouta and his extended family sheltered around 100 meters away from the house that was alerted to the strike on the ground floor of their four-story building, where they thought they would be safe, the strike hit Abu Qouta’s house instead, killing 19 members of his family, including his wife and cousins, as well as five of his neighbors who were standing outside.
Nasser Abu Qouta told AP that there were no militants in his building, and his family had not been warned: “This is a safe house, with children and women. Dust overwhelmed the house. There were screams. There were no walls. It was all open.” Abu Qouta was able to identify the bodies of 14 of his family members, but four of the children’s bodies were unrecognizable and one body was missing. Some of the children and grandchildren of Abu Qouta were also wounded in the strike.
Arabi 21 spoke with another relative of the family named Bakr Abu Qouta who provided additional details: “The entire family was sitting at home safely, the children were playing and eating, and suddenly we did not realize what had happened; the house was turned upside down. There were many [dead] under the rubble and wounded as well. The bodies of the [dead] were recovered in pieces.”
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported that at 8pm, Israeli aircraft killed 18 civilians, including five children and a woman, and 25 others were also injured to varying degrees. Arabi 21 put the death toll at 24 killed, among them 19 members of the Abu Qouta, five neighbors, eight children, elderly people, and women .
A sibling of one of the victims killed (Umm Bakr Abu Qouta) named Dr. Khaled Hamed Abu Qouta identified 19 members of the family killed: Faten Hamed Abu Qouta Umm Bakr Abu Qouta (female, 48 years old), Abdul Qader Muhammad Abu Qouta (50 years old), Muhammad Abdel Qader Abu Qouta (28 years old, son of Abdul Qader), Youssef Abdel Qader Abu Qouta (26 years old, son of Abdul Qader), Muhannad Abdel Qader Abu Qouta (15 years old, son of Abdul Qader), Abdul Hamid Muhammad Abu Qouta (48 years old), his wife Sarah Khaled Abu Murr, Salama Abdul Hamid Abu Qouta (child of Abdul Hamid and Sarah), Khaled Abdel Hamid Abu Qouta (15 years old, child of Abdul Hamid and Sarah), Muhammad Abdel Hamid Abu Qouta (child of Abdul Hamid and Sarah), Hala Abdul Hamid Abu Qouta (child of Abdul Hamid and Sarah), Haya Abdul Hamid Abu Qouta (child of Abdul Hamid and Sarah), Abdul Karim Muhammad Abu Qouta (43 years old, a militant), Salama Muhammad Abu Qouta (40 years old), Aya Salim Abu Qouta (12 years old), Rahaf Salim Abu Qouta (11 years old), Muhannad Salim Abu Qouta (8 years old), Muhammad Salim Abu Qouta (5 years old), Hisham Ziyad Abu Qouta.
Amjad Abu Abed posted on Facebook names of additional civilians killed: Hussein Marwan Abu Harb (militant), Ahmed Khaled Abd Al-Satri (22 years old, a militant), Hassan Farid Abu Hatab. A post from Mahal Sulaf added more civilians killed: Mohamed Ibrahim Abu Naja, Sameh Saeed Abu Suhaiban (21 years old), Mohammed Saeed Abu Suhaiban (31 years old), Muayad Ahmed Abu Hamid (15 years old), Mahmoud Hammad Abu Suhaiban (37 years old).
Friends, neighbors and a brother of Hisham Ziyad Abu Qouta posted memorials to him, including a picture of him riding a horse and a description of him as “He was the beauty of youth, clean, tidy, elegant in appearance, and had a good laugh and a cheerful spirit.”
Palestine TV posted pictures of the funeral for the members of the Abu Qouta, which occurred on October 8th.
One witness described the affected home as “leveled to the ground” by “highly explosive missiles” used in the attack.
Where possible, Airwars has matched names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.
Note on militancy
When Airwars first published this incident on November 1, 2023, no open sources were found to suggest that Hussein Marwan Abu Harb, Hussein Marwan Abu Harb, or Ahmed Khaled Abd Al-Satriwere militants. As such, the men were recorded as civilians. This was in line with Airwars’ methodology which is employed across all conflicts we document, and informed by international standards regarding the ‘presumption of civilian status‘. Specifically, as outlined by the International Committee of the Red Cross, civilian status is assumed until evidence is identified to the contrary.
On May 18, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a tribute to Hussein Marwan Abu Harb, identifying him as a “martyred Qessami fighter”. As such, Airwars updated Hussein Marwan Abu Harb‘s status from civilian to militant.
On May 30, 2026, another Telegram account affiliated with Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a tribute to Abdul Karim Muhammad Abu Qouta, also idenetifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Abdul Karim Muhammad Abu Qouta‘s status from civilian to militant, and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed accordingly.
On October 20, 2026 Telegram accounts affiliated with Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published and reshared similar tributes to Ahmed Khaled Abd Al-Satri, idenetifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Ahmed Khaled‘s status from civilian to militant, and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed accordingly.