Airwars assessment
At dawn on October 24th 2023, at least 22 members of the Al-Behbahani family, including 12 women and 6 children, were killed and a number of others were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on their home in the Bureij refugee camp, located in Central Gaza. Multiple sources reported that the entire family was killed in the incident.
Multiple sources, including Shehab News Agency, reported that the killed and injured victims were taken to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al Balah. The news site Al Masry Al Youm reported that six people had been killed and a number had been injured in the incident.
The names of 22 victims who were killed in the incident have been named by their family members as 73-year-old poet Shehdeh al-Behbahani, his wife 62-year-old Jamila Dawood al-Najjar al-Behbahani, and their 8-year-old granddaughter, Dania Saeed Shehda al-Behbahani. Based on their names, Shehdeh and Jamila’s three daughters Asmaa Shehdeh al-Behbahani, Israa Shehdeh al-Behbahani and Iman Shehdeh al-Behbahani were also killed. Shehda and Jamila’s 22-year-old nephew Bahaa Al-Din Suleiman Saeed al-Behbahani was killed alongside his cousin 25-year-old Muhammad Juma Saeed al-Bahbahani, and Muhammed’s two sisters. The sisters were identified as 31-year-old Shaima Juma al-Behbahani, 28-year-old Amna Juma al-Bahbahani, and their sister-in-law 29-year-old Abeer Khaled Abu Odeh al-Behbahani (wife of Khaled Juma Al-Behbehani). Abeer and Khaled’s young sons 2-year-old Walid Khaled Jameh al-Behbahani and infant Zaid Khaled Jameh al-Behbahani were also killed in the incident. A young girl named Iman Saeed al-Behbahani was reported as killed as well as 18-year-old Safia Khalil Abdel Hafiz al-Baghdadi. A number of other women were reportedly killed including 66-year-old Sarah Khalil Yusef al-Baghdadi and 44-year-old Fathia Abdel Hafez Khalil al-Najjar. A woman referred to as Umm Hassan al-Najjar was killed along with her three daughters, 10-year-old Farah Nabil Hassan al-Najjar, Raghad Nabil Hassan al-Najjar and 26-year-old Ghada Nabil Hassan al-Najjar, as well as Ghada’s son, 3-year-old Omar Ahmed Nawwaf al-Najjar.
On the day of the attack, @ShehabAgency reported the incident in a post on Twitter/X. The post included several photos of mourners surrounding the shrouded bodies of the victims, including the lifeless body of an infant, in the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Similarly, Al Jazeera Palestine posted a set of photos on Facebook with the caption: “Palestinians bid farewell to the bodies of the martyrs of the Al-Bahani family from #Al-Bareej camp in the middle of Gaza Strip at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balleh, whose house was bombarded by the [Israeli military] this morning and was fully martyred.” In the photos, mourners gather around a line of bodies wrapped in white cloth. In two of the images, men cry in agony as they hold tiny bodies in their arms. Palestine News Network shared a photo of three children who were killed in the strike, writing “these children were recovered from inside the Behbehani family home, where about 20 martyrs were recovered.”
Crediting Palestine Right Now, Facebook user Mahmoud Fouly also shared numerous photographs reportedly showing part of the funeral for the members of the Behbehani family killed in the incident the previous night. Healthcare workers and others are seen carrying small bodies of children and mourners gather around the many shrouded corpses of other Al-Behbahani family members who were killed in the alleged Israeli strike.
Four graphic videos, posted on Twitter/X by @CaptainGhazi, show the arrival of numerous casualties from the strike on the al-Behbahani family home to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Some of the footage shows medics unloading injured and killed civilians from ambulances. Most of the victims seen are women and children. At least eight killed and injured children were removed from one ambulance and the other ambulance contained at least three adults who had been harmed. Other clips show healthcare workers tending to a line of bodies inside a makeshift tent near the ambulance bay as other medics continue to bring in more bodies.
Online, many people paid tribute to those killed in the strike. The Al Bureji Camp Facebook page shared a poignant photo collage of some of the victims, which serves as a powerful reminder of the multiple generations of family members who died as a result of the bombing.
Muhammed and Shaima’s brother, Mahmoud Albahbahani, reported their deaths in a post on Facebook, alongside the deaths of many other relatives, saying “We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return, The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your separation.” Mahmoud also shared photos of some of these family members, including an image of Muhammad smiling in a suit, one in which he holds his toddler son Walid, and a third of Walid holding his new baby brother Zaid. Mohammed Khader Na wrote, “My caring and kind-hearted aunt, Jamila Dawoud Al-Najjar, my aunt’s husband, Shehda Al-Behbahani, and my aunt’s granddaughter, Dania Saeed Al-Bahbahani, were martyred.”
On October 25th, relative Islam Soleman al-Bahbahani shared her grief on Facebook, writing “The second night away from us. The second night in your grave …. The beloved of all is gone. I am the sister of the martyr, people. My brother is the sweetest martyr. Dearest to all … Oh brother, what a pain in my heart, my beloved ones, and God is my support. We cannot believe the news and we will never see you again. I swear, it is still like a dream.” Alongside the tribute, Islam posted an image of Bahaa at his graduation, standing proudly with his parents. Friends honored Bahaa Suleiman al-Behbahani, sharing photos and stories of the young man. Maher Ghsoub wrote, “By God, our hearts hurt, Bahaa …May God have mercy on your soul, brother” and shared a photo of himself with Bahaa.
Mohammad Hassan shared memories of his friend, writing “I used to spend the best of times with you. When I was fed-up and bored from home, I would come to you and say, “I want to escape my boredom at Bahaa’s.” I would pour out my worst on him. He is my friend. You tolerate me…. You remember the day you stood with me at my graduation and you dressed me in a graduation gown and combed my hair. And you sprayed me with perfume, wanting me to be the most tidy person among them, or when you attacked me on stage and sprayed me with spray soap to the point where I stopped being able to see, haha … that’s how you went, my heart …without saying goodbye and without anything, you gave me this heartbreak that will remain with me all my life. May God have mercy on you, my brother.”
Multiple sources celebrated 73-year old victim Shehdeh Al-Behbahani’s legacy as a poet and writer. His YouTube channel is filled with videos of him reciting poetic verses. On the day of the alleged strike, Ra’fet Jabr posted a photo of Shehdeh on Facebook, writing “To God’s mercy and satisfaction…the beloved uncle, the great educator, and the literary poet…the witness and the martyr (Shehdeh Saeed Al-Behbahani – Abu Al-Saeed) Shehdeh Al-Behbahani.” Sharing a picture of a younger Shehdeh posing in academic robes at the Islamic University of Gaza, Ahmad al-khalidi Abu Diya mourned Shehda’s death, describing him as a “poet, writer and gentleman”.
Where possible, names 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.
The incident occured around dawn.
The victims were named as:
Family members (14)
Family members (2)
Family members (6)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the town of Bureij (البريج), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.437934, 34.403857. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (27) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (49) [ collapse]
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Source: @ShehabAgency -
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Source: @ShehabAgency -
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Source: @ShehabAgency -
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Source: @ShehabAgency -
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Source: @7t7Livil -
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Source: Ra’fet jabr -
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Source: Ahmad al-khalidi abu diya’ -
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Source: Osama albuhbuhani -
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Source: Mahmoud Albahbahani -
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Source: Mahmoud Albahbahani -
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Source: Mahmoud Albahbahani -
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Source: Mahmoud mohammad jabr -
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Source: Mahmoud mohammad jabr -
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Source: Al bureij camp page -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: Galal alhaddad -
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Source: PNN news agency -
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Source: Mahmoud fouly -
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Source: Mahmoud fouly -
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Source: Mahmoud fouly -
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Source: Mahmoud fouly -
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Source: Mahmoud fouly -
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Source: Mahmoud fouly -
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Source: Mahmoud fouly -
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Source: Mahmoud fouly -
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Source: Mahmoud fouly -
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Source: Tayseer najjar -
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Source: Aljazeera palestine -
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Source: Aljazeera palestine -
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Source: Aljazeera palestine -
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Source: Aljazeera palestine -
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Source: Maher ghsoub -
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Source: Mohammad hassan -
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Source: Al bureij gathers us -
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Source: Islam soleman al-bahbahani -
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Source: Islam soleman al-bahbahani -
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Source: Islam soleman al-bahbahani -
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