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Airwars Assessment
In the morning of Saturday, 21 October 2023, the al-Shaer family home in the Al-Salam neighborhood of Rafah was hit in an alleged Israeli airstrike, resulting in the deaths of 10 identified members of the family and the injury of others.
A post from Ismail Abu Ahmed identified 10 members of the al-Shaer family who were killed: the father, 53-year-old Muhammad Fathi Nayef al-Shaer, the mother, 48-year-old Nabila Hammad Mahmoud al-Shaer, and their children: 24-year-old Bilal Fathi al-Shaer, 14-year-old Mahmoud Fathi al-Shaer, 15-year-old Lama Fathi al-Shaer, and 29-year-old Lobna Fathi al-Shaer. Lobna’s three children were also killed: 4-year-old Sidra Basel Ramadan al-Shaer, 12-year-old Khalil Basel Ramadan al-Shaer, and 10-year-old Ahmed Basel Ramadan al-Shaer. Another relative of the family, 53-year-old Ebtesam Mohammed Ahmed al-Shaer who was reported to be from Egypt, was also killed in the incident. According to @Mustafa3Ahed, the home that was destroyed belonged to the journalist Firas al-Shaer. Alghad TV News specified that the residence was a “three-storey house” and corresponding images show high levels of destruction.
Family members, such as Hussein Abu Jamal al-Shaer, expressed profound grief, stating, “The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we only say what pleases our Lord, and we are saddened by their separation” as he mourned the loss of Uncle Muhammad Abu Firas Al-Shaer, his wife, and their children. The Directorate of Education, Rafah, posted on behalf of the Rafah Basic School B for Boys and bid farewell to the Al-Shaer family members, acknowledging the impact on their school community. They drew specific attention to Lobna Fathi al-Shaer, who served as the deputy of the Parents Council in Rafah. In the post, the Directorate shared “sincere condolences and sympathy to the al-Shaer family.”
A Safa correspondent reported that a number of people were wounded due to the bombing of the al-Shaer family home. No other sources provided additional information about the number of wounded.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
All names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.
Victims
Family members (10)
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of al Salam (السلام) to the east of Rafah (رفح). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to find boundaries for the neighbourhood and to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for al Salam are: 31.267908, 34.256552.