At 1:34 AM on Wednesday October 18th 2023, at least three young civilian men, including the owner of a bakery, were reported killed and at least 10 others were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the al Nuseirat automated bakery “Al-Banna”  located in the center of Suf al-Nuseirat in the central Gaza strip. Orient News and Araby TV reported that the bakery was considered one of the largest in Gaza and provided bread to a large number of Palestinians, including the displaced people and residents of the al-Nuseirat refugee camp.

Friends, relatives and local sources on social media shared the names of the victims killed – the owner of the al Nuseirat bakery 46-year old Mukhlis al-Zari’i (Abu Iyad), a 24-year old man Ahmed Zaher al-Banna, and a 26-year old man Suhaib Muhammad Wasfi al-Banna.

Shehab Agency initially reported on the death of two civilians in the bombing. It later wrote that the number of civilians killed “has risen to 3.” Al Mayadeen News and sources on social media noted that the Al-Banna bakery was bombed while its workers were still inside, with some sources, including Quds News, adding that the bakery was completely destroyed. Euro News and al Hadath shared videos of the fiery deluge that enveloped the bombed structure.

A Twitter/X user @AboodEmad__ said that the bakery was “the best bakery we use in this situation because it is faster than other bakeries, and even though there are queues and turns, it alleviates the crisis a little,” sharing an image of the completely destroyed building with only its sign intact. A Facebook user Mar’i Bashir said that “even the bakery where I feed people bread with the remaining flour they bombed until we died of hunger”.

Roaamedia reported on “a number of martyrs and wounded” arriving at the al-Aqsa hospital. The AWDA Health Committee shared images of the injured being taken within the hospital, saying “the arrival of one martyr and ten injuries as a result of the bombing.” Sources did not provide details for those injured in the bombing.

Mukhlis al-Zari’i (Abu Iyad) was remembered in a Facebook tribute by the radio station “Voice of the Nation” (WA105FM) as “the good man”. He is seen on the attached image as a smiling bearded young man with a portrait of Yasser Arafat behind him. Khamis Khuseyn (Abu al’-Abd) and other Facebook users shared an image of the other victim, Ahmed Zahir Al-Banna – a young bearded man in an elegant suit and red tie. The death of Suhaib Muhammad Wasfi al-Banna was also mourned by his many friends who shared images of a young smiling bearded man.

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 belligerents, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.