On the morning of Monday, October 11th, 2023, a house for the al-Dahshan (Duhshan) family located in the Al Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City was bombed in an alleged Israeli airstrike that killed at least 11 and up to 15 members of the al-Dahshan family, including four women and four children, and wounded a number of civilians. At least three members of the family may have been members of a militant group, though the evidence was unclear.

According to witnesses, there was no warning prior to the bombardment.

Wafa News also reported that a number of civilians were wounded. Twitter/X user MohammedArafa82 wrote that his uncle Abu Saeed’s house was bombed and levelled to the ground.

Among those killed in the incident were 51-year-old lawyer Dr. Saeed Talal al-Dahshan (Duhshan) (Abu Hafs) alongside his 73-year-old mother Hooriyah Ibrahim Muhammad al-Duhshan, his 41-year-old wife Maha Ahmad Saleh al-Dahshan, and their 22-year-old son Talal Saeed Talal al-Dahshan.

Dr. Saeed Talal al-Dahshan, dubbed a “young Malaysian,” for his time spent in the country; he was also an international lawyer who specialized in Palestinian affairs. Having obtained a doctorate in international law from the University of Islamic Sciences Malaysia, he published a book, “How to Sue Israel,” in which he outlined a legal strategy for “holding Israel accountable for its violations of international law,” as stated by Literary Hub. According to the post by Sami Salahat, Dr. Saeed al-Dahshan used to live in Malaysia in recent years. In some images he is seen surrounded by his students.

A Twitter/X user Rima Naimoğlu (@filistinlirima) highly praised Dr. Saeed al-Dahshan,  calling him “one of the distinguished international lawyers of Palestine, whom I set as an example for myself and see as my teacher.” On hearing the news of his colleague’s death, Twitter/X user @Ahmed Khattab shared a post stating that he had worked with Dr. Saeed al-Dashan to “monitor and expose the occupation’s human rights violations.” Ahmed wrote that now Saeed was “a victim of these violations.”

Relatedly, Twitter/X user @Mahmoud Quassai Mokresh mourned the loss of a young Talal Saeed al-Dahshan, stating that he had “wanted to become a doctor abroad like his father.” Now, Mahmoud wrote, “in place of a Dr. [is] a martyr.” He shared a black-and-white image of the young Talal in a suit and a striped scarf.

Saleh Alajarmeh wrote a Facebook tribute to the late Dr. Saeed al-Dahshan and his son Talal, sharing an image where both are seen in suits and ties at an event or conference. Mohammad in his condolence post also shared an image of the father and son and Saeed’s brother Muhammad.

Saeed’s brother, 47-year-old Muhammad Talal Saeed al-Dahshan was killed along with his 38-year-old wife Ghada Faraj Is’haq al-Dahshan (Murtaja) and their five children. Their two sons: 18-year-old Anas Muhammad al-Dahshan and 11-year-old Qais Muhammad al-Dahshan, and their three daughters: 17-year-old Lana (Leena) Muhammad al-Dahshan, four-year-old Zeina Muhammad al-Dahshan, and 13-year-old Tala Muhammad al-Dahshan were all killed.

Among the victims killed in the strike were also the sons and wife of Yahya Talal Al-Dahshan, according to the post by MohammedArafa82. One social media user mentioned Lana Yahya al-Dahshan, apparently his daughter, among the victims killed.

Multiple sources referred to Dr. Saeed as a “Commander” and a “mujahid leader” – it is unclear if this is a reference to militant activity, given that these terms are often used in Gaza to refer to members of militant groups. It is also possible however that these terms were used descriptively to refer to Dr Saeed’s legal and academic efforts against Israel. Another source “Lawyer Mohammad Hasan Al-Dahshan Abu Moaz” also referred to Muhammad Talal Al-Dahshan Abu Anas as “the hard-working mujahid” and Talal Saeed Al-Dahshan as the “heroic mujahid”.

Apart from these references, Airwars was unable to find other evidence online that would indicate they were members of any particular armed group, such as associated emblems belonging to militant groups or imagery with weapons of any kind. Their statuses as militants is therefore ‘contested’, with their casualties included only in the upper belligerent and civilian ranges as per our methodology.

Following the incident, Saeed and Ghada’s son, @Hafs Said, shared a post stating: “And give good news to those who are patient. My dear father and mother, the apple of my eye and the mate of my soul, my brother Talal, with God’s permission and satisfaction. My uncle, my cousins, and my grandmother are beside their Lord, God willing. Our house was targeted without warning. They sat under the rubble of the house for more than 35 hours. May God have mercy on you, my beloved ones.”

Where possible, names of the victims have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.

Due to the scale and urgency of Airwars’ assessment process, all images have been automatically uploaded to each assessment with the graphic filter applied to protect users. We have also included all images identified from the sources, which may also include any imagery of combatants.

The incident occured in the morning.