During the night of October 22nd 2023, four family homes in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Gaza City were bombed by an alleged Israeli airstrike. The homes belonging to the Haddad, Barghout, Al-Beik, and Nasser families were reportedly struck by an Israeli military aircraft, killing nine civilians and injuring others. Two other individuals were killed and have been identified as militants.
The Barghout family home was reportedly near the Al-Farouq Mosque in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood.
Reports following the incident noted that “a large number of missing people were still under the rubble of the four homes.” Eleven members of the Barghout family were killed in the incident, including 54-year-old Hajj Ashraf Mahdi Muhammad Barghout and his wife 48-year-old Hajja Hikmat Bashir Barghout, three of their sons: 30-year-old Abdullah Ashraf Barghout (a militant), 12-year-old Muhammad Ashraf Barghout, and Ahmed Ashraf Barghout (a militant); their four daughters, 28-year-old Maryam Ashraf Barghout, 19-year-old Heba Ashraf Barghout, 17-year-old Nour Ashraf Barghout, and Iman Ashraf Barghout; as well as their two grandchildren (daughters of Ashraf and Hikmat’s son Mahdi), 6-year-old Houda Mahdi Ashraf Barghout and 3-year-old Maryam Mahdi Ashraf Barghout.
When Airwars first published this incident on October 22, 2023, no open sources were found to suggest that Abdullah Ashraf Barghout was a militant. As such, Abdullah Ashraf Barghout was recorded as a civilian. This was in line with Airwars’ methodology which is employed across all conflicts we document, and informed by international standards regarding the ‘presumption of civilian status‘. Specifically, as outlined by the International Committee of the Red Cross, civilian status is assumed until evidence is identified to the contrary.
On March 19, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)’s armed wing, published a tribute to Abdullah Ashraf Barghout, identifying him as a commander. As such, Airwars updated Abdullah Ashraf Barghout’s status from civilian to militant, and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from eleven to ten.
On July 29, 2026, the same Telegram account published a tribute to Ahmed Ashraf Barghout, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Ahmed Ashraf Barghout’s status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from ten to nine.
Reporting on the incident, a Facebook account named Yafawyat Yakhal described the situation as “very difficult” and reported that the Barghout family “were all under the rubble” when they died. The Barghout Family Youth Association shared a Facebook post stating that “a new group of cousins [had joined] the caravan of martyrs.” The Association went on to ask that God have mercy on the 11 family members who were killed in the incident and asked that “He accept them in Heaven”. A tweet from @ShehabAgency reported “injuries” but did not specify how many.
The same account posted images of three of the male victims from before the incident, including the patriarch of the family, Hajj Ashraf Mahdi Barghout.
A Facebook account called Tata Ahmed described the incident as a “tragedy” and a relative called Muhammad Abdel Hakim posted an image of Ashraf from before the incident alongside an image of five bodies wrapped in white burial shrouds.
The names of all identified victims, except for Ahmed Ashraf Barghout and Iman Ashraf Mahdi Barghout, have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.