During the morning of Saturday, 14th October 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit a house belonging to the Agha family located opposite Al-Saqa Mosque in the city of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip killing at least 13 identified members of the extended Agha family, including three women and seven children, and injuring dozens of civilians. The family house was also completely destroyed.

The reported number of casualties varied among sources. While Twitter/X user @Thaer_Shobair reported about the death of eight people, Thaer Mohamed shared on Facebook that 11 people, including Khamis Younis, his wife, their four children, and five other relatives, were killed. This was also reported by AP news, stating that “eleven members of the al-Agha family were killed in a single strike on a family home in the first week of war.” According to the lists posted by @Jales_tinian2, 12 people died. This corroborates with the number of names frequently mentioned in sources. However, if Dia’a Khamis Younis, mentioned by two sources, one of which was the first Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) list, was among the casualties, the number of names indicates that at least 13 people were killed. As Dia’a was mentioned by two sources and her death recorded, alongside her family members, by the MoH, the minimum fatalities for this incident has been recorded as 13, rather than 12. This will be updated should additional information become available.

Among the deceased were members of three families, including three men, three women, and at least six children. Twitter/X user @Jales_tinians2 shared a list of the killed family members online, identifying among the victims Khamis Younis Khamis al-Agha (38 years old), his wife, Nisreen Shaaban Raafat al-Agha (32 years old), and their children Younis (12 years old), Ahmed (11 years old), Baraa (8 years old) and Nour (6 years old). A further mention by Alaa Shafiq Al-Farra listed a fifth child of Khamis and Nisreen, Dia’a Khamis Younis (2 years old). Dia’a’s death was also recorded by the MoH.

In a second post, @Jales_tinians2 also reported the death of Hajja Samiha Khamis Ahmed al-Agha, her son Moaz Ahmed Rajab Awad (18 years old) and Samah Mahmoud Khaled al-Zahar (42 years old).

Several other sources, including Alaa Shafiq Al-Farra, also confirmed the deaths of Khamis’s brother Muhammad Younis al-Agha (35 years old), his son Younis Muhammad Younis (9 years old), and daughter Hala Muhammad Younis (3 years old). This was corroborated by Iynoraa, who also shared on Facebook that Muhammad Younis Al-Agha and his two children were killed during the attack.

Family and friends took to social media to mourn the deceased, sharing pictures and tributes.

Many people mourned the loss of Khamis Younis Khamis al-Agha. Twitter/X user @rdooan shared some touching words, writing that Khamis “was one of the noblest people I have known in my life,” wishing that “May God have mercy on the beloved of the heart and the beautiful soul.” Other sources, including Gaza576, @rdooan and Thaer Mohamad, shared pictures of Khamis, a smiling middle-aged man wearing a beige button-down t-shirt.

Numerous social media posts featured photographs of Khamis and Nisreen’s children, who were 12, 11, eight and six years old at the time of the attack. Posts by Alaa Shafiq Al-Farra and @sh_ermana, among others, depicted two of their sons leaning proudly against a silver car, while another picture shows one of the boys standing in a festive setting, surrounded by gifts. Many pictures shared on social media show the daily life and activities of the boys. They feature one of the youngest boys wearing matching green sweats on the street or one of them wearing a suit at a festive event or a red anchor-printed polo at home. They all underline the normal life the boys had before, such as a picture taken at a sports event called “Champion Academy” and shared by Abead.sh.

A widely circulated image of a young girl, presumably Hala, shows her in a festive white dress with a tiara, holding flowers and looking shyly at the person taking the picture. In another photo, seemingly taken on the same day and posted by Abead.sh and Faloji Al-Agha on Facebook, Hala stands next to a slightly older girl, possibly Nour, both in white dresses alongside a little boy wearing a vest and bow.

Muhammad Younis, the father of Hala, was mourned in a Twitter/X post by @sh_ermana, who wrote: “The writer friend Khamis Younis Agha/A Martyr with his brother Muhammad and all his family members/Have mercy on us, my Lord, we have no one but You.”

Though there were no posts directly addressing the death of his son Younis Muhammad, a photo shared by Twitter/X user @Raghadm_48, likely showing him, captures a boy wearing a brown fleece and photographed in front of a white wall.

There were also no posts specifically mourning the deaths of Samah or Hajja Samiha; however, Dr. Mohamad Abunada shared a tribute to Samiha’s son Moaz, posting a picture of the young men and recounting a recent encounter where Moaz greeted him warmly, reminiscing about his treatment as a child.

Other social media posts, including those by Euronews, featured pictures of the Agha family’s funeral on Facebook, showing 10 dead bodies wrapped in white shrouds lying in front of a group of people attending the funeral. A video of the funeral shared by various accounts showed the wrapped bodies being removed from a truck and laid on the ground as a crowd gathered to pray for the deceased.

Some sources mentioned injuries, though the exact numbers remain unclear. While the Anadolu Agency reported on Facebook about “a large number of martyrs and injuries,” @jolnarfarag stated on Twitter/X that 11 injured had been transported to Nassar Hospital after the incident.

According to the Associated Press, Khamis al-Agha, an employee at a Hamas-affiliated charity, had allegedly received a phone call in 2021 from an Israeli Soldier. The caller advised him “to evacuate his house in Khan Younis to avoid an impending airstrike nearby.” No airstrike followed the call; when the house was destroyed on 14th October 2023, no warning had been given before.

Pictures and videos shared online display the aftermath of the airstrike. A picture posted by @Jaseragha shows the complete destruction of the house, with no walls left standing. The picture was taken from the roof of a neighbouring building, and a rescue team can be seen searching for injured or dead people in the rubble. Other videos, including those posted by the @arab48website and @bawabaanes, captured the chaotic moments immediately following the strike, with people rushing to the site to search for possible survivors, others trying to extinguish a fire, and others in complete shock.

Most sources did not provide specifics on the form of attack. However, some sources, including @arab48website, reported that an airstrike destroyed the house, and the report from AP indicated that it was a single airstrike that hit the house. Twitter/X users @bawabaanews and @Jaseragha further specified that the house was destroyed by “an occupation aircraft.”

Regarding the specific area of the incident, all sources that referred to the location reported that it occurred at the house of the Agha family in Khan Younis. Twitter/X user @jolnarfarag specified that the house was located in the city centre of Khan Younis, while Facebook user Baher222 mentioned that the house was located opposite Al-Saqa Mosque.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the attack to the Israeli military. Twitter/X user @rdooan directly spoke about “Israeli bombardment,” while the Anadolu Agency wrote that the house was allegedly destroyed by “ #Israeli aircraft.”

Khamis Younis, Nasrin, Younis Khamis, Ahmed Khamis, Dia’a Khamis, Nour Khamis, Mohammed Younis, Younis Mohammed, Hala Mohammed, Moaz Awad, and Samah Mohammed’s names were matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023 the MoH has released nine 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, Khamis Younis, Nasrin, Younis Khamis, Ahmed Khamis, Nour Khamis, Mohammed Younis, Younis Mohammed, Hala Mohammed, Moaz Awad, and Samah Mohammed’s names were matched to the first ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on October 26, 2023. Dia’a Khamis’ name was matched to the eight ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on March 24, 2025.

While sources said that  to Samah Mahmoud’s last name was ‘al-Zahar’, a 42 year old woman on the ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ lists was named ‘Samah Mahmoud Khaled Awad.’ As Samah was a relative of Moaz Awad, Airwars has matched Samah al-Zaher to Samah Awad. It would seem that Awad was either Samah’s maiden or married name.

Additionally, sources said that Nour Khamis was six years old, but her matching MoH entry listed her age as five. Airwars has recorded her age as six, but will update this should additional information come to light.

The only individual who Airwars was unable to match to an MoH list was Hajja Samiha Khamis Ahmed al-Agha. It may very well be that, along with many of her family members, she is included in the MoH lists, but perhaps her entry includes her maiden name, rather than her married name. As such, Airwars has been unable to match her to a specific MoH entry but will update this should additional information become available.