On Sunday, October 15th 2023, at least five civilian members of the Abu Mustafa family, including three children, and at least four others were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a family home in the al-Amal neighbourhood in Khan Yunis, Gaza strip.

Initial reporting from Shehab Agency stated one civilian had been killed and that others injured were transferred to Nasser Hospital. Reporting also stated that a search “is underway for missing people under the rubble.” The death toll was later updated to three, with four others injured in the bombing. Motaz Press stated that “a number of injured people, including a paramedic, died during the rescue” efforts, while Al Mayadeen News reported that there were a “large number of martyrs and wounded” as a result of the bombing.

The Palestinian Information Center shared the names of those killed in the strike – 59-year-old Majed Abu Mustafa Abu al-Atta (contested), his wife Hanan Salem Abu Mustafa (48), their sons Ibrahim Majed Ibrahim Abu Mustafa (27) and Wajid Majed Abu Mustafa (13), their daughters Baraa Majed Abu Mustafa (9) and Thanaa Majed Abu Mustafa (6). The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified Baraa as being 25 years old and Thanaa as being 17. Ibrahim Majed Ibrahim Abu Mustafa and the child Baraa Majid Abu Mustafa were initially reported as injured, and a video of their arrival to the Nasser Hospital was shared. They later succumbed to their injuries and were later included among those named as killed.

Sources including Al Jazeera shared images and videos such as the efforts to rescue children trapped underneath the rubble, and of the bodies of those killed wrapped in shrouds being transported away.

Friends and colleagues mourned the loss on social media, with the Youth Safe Home Center posting a tribute to Ibrahim, sharing a photo of him – a smiling, young bearded man. They called him a “colleague in humanitarian and community work”, who also entertained children in games to relieve them from psychological trauma and stress, adding that his sister “was suffering from kidney failure.” A user on social media, Majeddiyab, shared an image of Ibrahim saying “May God have mercy on you, Mustafa. Yesterday he was with us and his smile never left him despite the pain of the country.”

Twitter/X user @feraasemad referred to the killed Majثي Abu Mustafa as “Colonel”, while it is unclear whether this is meant to invoke militancy or not, his civilian status has been recorded as ‘contested’, meaning that he has been recorded in the upper civilian and militant casualty ranges but not the lower. This incident will be updated should additional information come to light.

All names 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 strike to Israeli forces. According to the Youth Safe Home Center, the bombing occurred without warning.