Airwars assessment
Six civilians, all members of the same family, including a woman and three children, were killed and at least two children were injured by an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Abdul Ghafour family home located in Al-Satar Al-Gharbi area in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, shortly before 5:55 AM on Monday, October 23, 2023.
The deceased family members were identified as: Dr. Muhammad Ahmed Abdul Ghafour “Abu Al-Baraa” (age unknown) who was killed alongside his wife 38-year-old Aisha Fayez Al-Astal (Abdul Ghafour) “Umm Al-Baraa” and their four children: eldest 18-year-old son Baraa Muhammad Ahmed Abdul Ghafour, 13-year-old daughter Jana Muhammad Ahmed Abdul Ghafour, 11-year-old son Hudhayfah Muhammad Ahmed Abdul Ghafour, and seven-year-old daughter Nada Muhammad Ahmed Abdul Ghafour.
Their 17-year-old son Abdul Rahman Muhammad Ahmed Abdul Ghafour was injured but survived the strike, as well as his 17-year-old cousin Salama Imad Abdul Ghafour.
News of the strike was reported at 5.55 am by Safa News, which reported that “two martyrs and two serious injuries” arrived at Nasser Hospital following a strike that hit the family home. Safa later reported that the number of those deceased rose to four “after two child martyrs arrived in pieces.” For some time, a search was underway for missing persons under the rubble of the house.
The Abdul Ghafour Family Youth Association announced the deaths of the six family members in the strike, expressing sympathy and condolences. The page also shared photos of the family funeral, where four white shrouds stained with blood were lying next to each other. Other family members, including Muhammad’s brother and niece, also confirmed that six people had been killed.
The family home was remembered as a place of “memories, worship, rejoicing, and giving” in a tweet posted by Yassir Abdul Ghafour, Muhammad’s brother. Alongside the striking photos of the rubble left of the family home, he also posted a photo of Muhammad reading from a Quran in a mosque. Yahya Al-Qassas, a neighbour of the family, also reported on the incident, writing that “only one child remains” of Muhammad’s children.
Dr. Muhammad Ghafour was a university lecturer according to the Palestinian Information Center. He was also a funeral preacher, according to Al-Qassas. In one Facebook post which describes him as a “Hadith sheikh”, he is seen wearing robes over a suit and tie, sitting by a microphone. Another post, written by the late journalist Adel Zourob said that he was a “man of Islamic jurisprudence and mosques”. Satter Now, a popular Facebook page, remembered Muhammad with a photo of him speaking, describing him as “the sheikh, the preacher, the man of Islamic knowledge, and the servant of the mosques”. Satter Now also added an image of the late Muhammad – a middle-aged man in glasses with a thick black beard and a receding hairline, wearing a checkered shirt and standing in nature.
Baraa, 18, the eldest child of the family, was a first-year university student. Nada, 7, was the youngest and was meant to be celebrating her next birthday in five days time. Family members posted other photos of the children, including a selfie of a young boy, a smiling young girl in glasses, and a little girl wearing an orange paper crown with the words “Queen of Reading”. In another photo, a little girl is seen posing in a graduation cap and gown, holding a diploma.
Muhammad’s wife Aisha was remembered as a “good” and “generous” wife by Muhammad’s brothers. Mariam Al-Astal, a relative of Aisha’s, mourned their deaths and wrote that the Abdul Ghafour family was her “second family”. Another relative, Taqwa Al-Astal wrote of her “good influence” and asked God “for a speedy recovery,” for Abdul, the only surviving child.
On social media, family members posted wishes for Abdul and Salama, both 17, who were wounded but survived the strike. “May God heal you and put your wounds in the balance of your good deeds,” wrote Mahmoud Ahmad Abdul Ghafour, alongside photos of the young men in hospital beds with severe injuries. “May God strengthen your heart, inspire you with patience, compensate you with goodness, and mend your brokenness” wrote Iman Abdul Ghafour, calling Salama, a university student, “the young man whose morals and etiquette everyone attests to.”
Airwars has matched the names of all of the civilians who were killed besides Dr. Muhammad with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 23, 2023.
The Interior Ministry claimed that the incident was a result of Israeli forces striking the family home, as reported by Al Watan Voice. Other outlets, including Safa News, Quds News, and Al-Furqan Network also attributed the incident to the Israeli military. Yasser Abdel Ghafour emphasized that the family house was bombed without prior warning.
The incident occured at approximately 5:55 am local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (8)
Summary
Sources (45) [ collapse]
Media
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