At least 52 identified civilians, including at least 15 women and 22 children, and up to 68 civilians were reportedly killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes on two four-story buildings, one belonging to Ibrahim R Joudeh and another to his brother Khalil Joudeh, in Deir Al Balah in the middle of the Gaza Strip at the dawn of Monday, 22nd October, 2023.

PBS NewsHour reported that some of the 68 civilians who were allegedly killed in this strike were seeking refuge from Northern Gaza. There were no reports of the number of injured civilians, but at least one injured person, a one-year old girl named Milissa Joudeh, will likely never walk again as a result of the injury caused by the strike that fractured her spine and paralyzed her from the chest down.

Those named by relatives and friends to have been killed in the strike came from three generations of the Joudeh and al-Jarousha families, connected by marriage.

Victims in the house of Ibrahim Joudeh

The family’s grandmother Manal Jouda (Umm Abdullah), a wife of the surviving Ibrahim R Jouda who had written a powerful testimony, was killed alongside their five sons Abdullah Ibrahim Joudeh, Ramadan Ibrahim Joudeh, Muhammad Ibrahim Joudeh, Karam Ibrahim Joudeh, and Karim Ibrahim Joudeh and their two daughters Hanin Ibrahim Joudeh and Rahaf Ibrahim Joudeh.

A 33-year old wife of Abdullah Ibrahim Joudeh named Intisar Muhammad Maher Saleh Jouda (Al-Nazli), and their three sons Yazan Abdullah Joudeh, Ibrahim Abdullah Joudeh, and Muhammad Abdullah Joudeh were also killed in the strike.  Muhammad Maher El Ashi wrote a condolence mesage on Facebook, noting that the late Intisar was his wife’s sister, and blamed the Israeli military for this attack. Intisar’s sister Saleh El Nazli also mourned her death.

Reda Siam, the wife of Muhammad Ibrahim Joudeh, and their son Ibrahim Muhammad Joudeh were also among those killed. Hanin Ibrahim Joudeh’s husband Ahmed Ibrahim al-Jarousha was killed alongside their son Muhammad Ahmed al-Jarousha.

Victims in the house of Khalil Joudeh

A brother of Ibrahim R Jouda, the family’s grandfather Khalil Joudeh, was killed in his house alongside his wife, a 59-year old wife Noha Othman Joudeh, their two sons, a 38-year old Muhammad Khalil Ramadan Joudeh (abu Khalil) and Ramadan Khalil Joudeh, their five daughters  – a 36-year old Alaa Khalil Joudeh, Amira Khalil Joudeh, Elham Khalil Joudeh, a 20-year old Baraa Khalil Joudeh, and a 27-year old Hiba Khalil Joudeh, and their grandchildren about whom there is more information below.

Sami Joudeh, the husband of Alaa Khalil Joudeh, and their two daughters, an 11-year old Sama Joudeh and a 13-year old Hala Joudeh, were also killed. Ibrahim Jouda wrote that Khalil’s daughter Amira was killed alongside her children, and his daughter Elham – alongside her sons, but the exact number of these children and their age are unknown.

Two of Ramadan Khalil Joudeh’s children, his son 7-year old Qusay Ramadan Joudeh and his 4-year old daughter Noha Ramadan Joudeh, were also killed in the strikes. Among the victims was also a 17-year old Nasma Fathi Joudeh, daughter of Ibrahim’s sister and mother of Omar.

Among those killed were also Muhammad Khalil Joudeh’s wife, their son Khalil Joudeh, and their infant daughter Misk Joudeh. Awatef Amr wrote on Facebook that Muhammad was holding “his daughter Misk in his arms while they were sleeping. [Israeli] missiles descended on them and destroyed the house, so he could move up with her while she was in his arms. They slept forever.” He also shared a graphic video where the dead body of the father embracing his daughter can be seen. Ezza Badawi and other social media users shared the image also capturing this tragic occurence.

Muhammad Khalil Joudeh’s friend, Ahmed Hamad, posted his heartfelt testimony: “The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your departure, O Muhammad, and we only say what pleases God.” He shared an image where he was captured together with the smiling Muhammad dressed in a blue T-shirt. A Facebook user Bil’in Bil’in posted the images of Muhammad, his sons and of his infant daughter when they were still alive.

The Bil’in community Facebook group also paid a tribute to Muhammad Khalil Joudeh, noting that he had spent four years living in the village, west of Ramallah in the West Bank, whilst working as a carpenter. “We extend our deepest condolences and sympathy to the Joudeh family in Gaza”, the community wrote.

Al-Jarousha family, guests in Khalil Joudeh’s house

According to Facebook posts from Saadawi Salahdin and Ibrahim R Jouda, those killed from the al-Jarousha family had been displaced from Gaza City in the north of the Gaza Strip and had moved south, sheltering in the Joudeh family home as guests at the time of the strikes. Grandfather Ibrahim Wasfi al-Jarousha and his wife Mai Othman Joudeh were killed along with their four sons Ammar Ibrahim al-Jarousha, Amer Ibrahim al-Jarousha (Abu Omar), Muhammad Ibrahim al-Jarousha, and Ahmed Ibrahim al-Jarousha.

Ibrahim’s nephew Muhammad Mahmoud Al-Jarousha posted a condolence message on Facebook mourning the loss of his uncle, uncle’s wife, children and grandchildren. “May God have mercy on them and accept them and all of them as martyrs” he added. Muhannad Maj remembered his “brother and friend” Amer Al-Jarousha (Abu Omar), sharing his image of a young man in a yellow T-shirt.

Ammar Ibrahim al-Jarousha’s wife Maryam Arshi, their infant daughter Gory al-Jarousha, and two of their sons Abdulrahman al-Jarousha and Amir al-Jarousha were also killed. Also among the victims killed in the strike were Amer Ibrahim al-Jarousha’s wife Sherine Hassan and their young son Muhammad Amer al-Jarousha. Ahmed Ibrahim al-Jarousha’s wife and their son (unnamed) were killed in the strike as well. Maryam Arshi was described by Dina Ershi, her sister, as “the joy of my heart” and “my love, my kindness”.

Umm Hassan Hassan mourned the loss of Sherine Hassan and her family, writing “With hearts filled with pain and sadness over the separation of our dear Sherine Rami Hassan, her husband, and her children. May God have mercy on you, Umm Omar, with the martyrs and the righteous. Deepest condolences and sorrow to her father, mother, and sisters.”

The Safari Model Kindergarten described its young pupil Muhammad Amer al-Jarousha as “a bird from the birds of paradise”, also commenting “Oh God, have mercy on the martyrs and heal all the wounded. It’s enough, we don’t want war.”

Survivors

PBS NewsHour reported that one mother from the Joudeh family “had gone into labour during the attack and was found dead beneath the rubble” with her twin newborns killed during the process of birth. Her one year-old infant girl Milissa Jouda was reportedly a survivor. “What did this tiny baby do to deserve a life without any family?” said her relative Jasmine Jouda who reportedly lost 68 family members.

PBS added that just before the war, Jouda’s niece Milissa walked a few paces for the first time, but she will never walk again. Doctors say the airstrike that killed the girl’s family fractured her spine and paralyzed her from the chest down.

According to @ShehabAgency, writing on Twitter/X, the child Khaled Jouda was also among survivors of the strike. Facebook user Samer Abu Alf posted the images of Khaled visiting the funeral of his family members. The young boy is seen crying over the bodies of his relatives in the white shrouds. A Facebook user Osama Al Badrawi wrote that “The family of the child Khaled Jouda from Gaza are all martyrs”, sharing the collage of images of some of his deceased family members.

Where possible, names of the victims 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 strikes to Israeli forces.

Whilst the precise local time of the incident is unclear, sources including Awatef Amr indicate that the families were sleeping at the time of the strike, and Facebook user Bil’in.Bil’in noted that the civilians died at dawn.

Due to the scale and urgency of Airwars’ assessment process, all images have been automatically uploaded to each assessment with the graphic filter applied to protect users. We have also included all images identified from the sources, which may also include any imagery of combatants.

The incident occured around dawn.