Around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, a devastating airstrike carried out by the Israeli military on the Yarmouk Square west of Gaza City, and all of its eight apartment buildings,  including Al-Taj residential building, killed at least 114 civilians, including at least 48 children and 37 women, among them two female journalists, and injured “hundreds” of others. Among the victims were many newly displaced civilians.

Lower initial death tolls were reported in the immediate aftermath of the strike, with casualty counts challenged because so many individuals were trapped underneath the rubble. Members of the Ramlawi family were found alive after being able to send a call for help underneath the rubble of the fourth floor of the Al Taj 3 building. Survivors Khaled Saed Al Ramlawi, Osama Al Daki, Saeed Amer Al Ramlawi, and Hamoud Ahmad Al Ramlawi lost 19 family members in the strike.

@ShehabAgency initially reported that 40 bodies were recovered from the rubble alongside dozens of wounded people following the Israeli airstrike on Al-Taj Building 3 and Yarmouk and Al-Jalaa Streets. @naveedmarfani put the number of killed at 25, adding that “hundreds” were injured, while Al Bawaba News, quoting the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, reported more than 100 people had been wounded. Later, this figure was updated to 260 wounded as reported by Al Jazeera on October 27, 2023.  In particular, Al Jazeera quoted Iyad al-Buzum, the spokesman for the interior ministry in Gaza, who said on Thursday: “The civil defence and ambulance crews have so far recovered 120 killed Palestinians and approximately 260 wounded from Yarmouk Square. We still have 300 missing people under the rubble.”

The day after the incident, @d_f115 reported that the death count had reached 61 and the search was still going on for other missing people under the rubble. @QamareAlam21 specified that more than 120 people, including “8 entire families,” were buried under the rubble.

The Israel Defense Forces published a video of what it said were strikes on a “Hamas terror tunnel,” without further details. In the footage, a large building and its surrounding area is struck multiple times within a second, with a number of what are potentially secondary explosions occurring six seconds later. Airwars was able to geolocate the footage and confirm the large building in the frame was the al-Taj building. No further details were included about the damage to the alleged tunnel network. The strike is among 17 featured in an investigation by Airwars and Sky News geolocating strike footage released by the Israeli military.

Tributes by family members and friends on social media helped Airwars identify 119 casualties and seven injuries from nine families.

The Sharaf family

At least 39 members of the Sharaf family across three generations were reported killed in the strike. 66-year-old Omar Khalil Mohammed Sharaf (Abu Ismail) and his wife Umm Ismail Sharaf lost at least six of their children and children-in-law, as well as 16 grandchildren. Omar’s two brothers and their families were also killed in the strike: Bashir Khalil Muhammad Sharaf, his wife, three children, and a grandchild, and Dr. Khaled Sharaf, his wife and their three children.

The names of those killed were mostly identified by relatives on social media, and are identified below.

Omar and Ismail Sharaf’s children and grandchildren

Omar and Ismail’s Sharaf’s daughter-in-law, Islam Baalousha (wife of their surviving son Youssef, a program producer at Shehab Agency), possibly mentioned on Genocide in Gaza website as 35-year-old Islam Mahmoud Ali Sharaf, was reportedly killed alongside her three daughters – 11-year-old Malak Youssef Omar Sharaf, six-year-old Yasmine Youssef Omar Sharaf, and three-year-old Nour Youssef Omar Sharaf and her son, 10-year-old Malik Youssef Omar Sharaf. A video posted by a cousin, named Yousef Sharaf, shows Youssef Sharaf Abu Malik mourning for his wife Islam and four children, who were all killed. @Mansorryaan tweeted the day after the incident that their colleague Youssef’s wife, children, and other relatives were still under the rubble. Youssef Sharaf, a program producer at Shehab News Agency, tweeted that “my father, my mother, my wife, my children, and most of my brothers and their families were martyred” and described his son Malik as “The son of my heart, my darling, my successor, and my heir, like the breeze, he lived among us, flying with joy and spreading love, just like his features in this picture, and in all the pictures!” @ShehabAgency also tweeted a condolence message for their journalist, Youssef.

Omar and Umm Ismail’s son, 41-year-old medical laboratory specialist Ismail Omar Khalil Sharaf, his wife, and their son, an infant Omar Ismail Omar Sharaf, were also killed. Ismail’s brother Yousef (@_Ysharaf) described Omar as Ismail’s “first joy, his great redress, and his great compensation”, and that Omar “came carrying joy on the day of Tarwiyah, which preceded the last Eid al-Adha, and he left life with his father, mother, and my family during the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood”.

According to the profile of Ismail Omar Khalil Sharaf on the Genocide in Gaza website, he was a medical laboratory specialist. He was a bold man wearing glasses. In the image attached, he was wearing a suit.  The profile of his son Omar has an image of an infant held by his father.

Omar and Umm Ismail’s son, 37-year-old Abdul Rahim Omar Sharaf, his wife, 35-year-old medical laboratory specialist Aliaa Ramzi (Ahmed) Al Hinawi (Sharaf), their three-year-old son Mohammad Abd al-Rahim Omar Shraf, and their three daughters – 10-year-old Lian Abdul Rahim Omar Sharaf, nine-year-old Noha Abdul Rahim Omar Sharaf, and five-year-old Joan Abdul Rahim Omar Sharaf were killed. Nermin Hinawi posted a condolence message for his cousin Dr. Aliaa Ramzi Al Hinawi, her husband, and her four children. Images show the parents and four children, including an infant.

Omar and Umm Ismail’s son, 37-year-old Salah Omar Khalil Sharaf, and his son, seven-year-old Hamza Salah Omar Sharaf, were also killed.

Omar and Umm Ismail’s daughter, 36-year-old Asma Omar Khalil Sharaf, her 10-year-old daughter Hala (Fadi Fayez) Dawoud, her nine-year-old daughter Sama (Fadi Fayez) Dawoud, her five-year-old daughter Jouri (Fadi Fayez) Dawoud, and her 12-year-old daughter Lana (Fadi Fayez) Dawoud were killed. A post by Sereen Daoud described Lana as “her father’s firstborn and his first joy. Lana is the superior, ambitious, dreamer; She used to stay up with me and sit with me during the war nights, telling me about her hopes and dreams. She competed with me in memorizing the Qur’an.”

Hala was described as “the spontaneous, kind, and innocent girl…She would ask me every night to comb her hair and play with her so she would forget the nights of terror we lived through. She stood next to me in the kitchen while I was preparing food and whispered in my ear: “Auntie, I make you the best food ever.” On the last night she spent at my house, she woke up to the sound of bombing and panic filled her heart, asking me; Auntie, do your feet hurt from fear as much as they hurt me?”

Sama was described as “the energetic and responsible one (the logistics person in charge at home), as her father calls her. She was older than her age and saw more of life than she could bear. During the hours of bombing and evacuation, she was the one who packed bags.”

Jour was described as “the love of the house, her mother’s darling, and my daughter Sandy’s companion in kindergarten. They always shared a lunchbox in kindergarten. They played together and quarreled innocently over a piece of candy or a toy. Jour left, leaving her friend Sandy alone.” Asma was described as “We used to share together in making bread and preparing food during the war days… She would stand next to me in the kitchen, we would prepare food and talk together, and every night she would prepare the pot of tea that my son Ahmed loved with her hands”.

Omar and Umm Ismail’s other daughter, 27-year-old Alaa Omar Khalil Sharaf, and her daughters, who were children based on the age of the mother, were killed. @_Ysharaf refers to his sister Alaa as “the apple of my heart” and only mentions that her “daughters” were killed, which Airwars has quantified as two casualties.

Bashir Khalil Muhammad Sharaf’s family

Omar Sharaf’s brother, 58-year-old Bashir Khalil Muhammad Sharaf (Abu Osama), his wife, his 35-year-old daughter, a pharmacist assistant Wissam Bashir Khalil Sharaf, his 29-year-old daughter Israa Bashir Khalil Sharaf, his 33-year-old daughter, a journalist Doaa (Duaa) Khalil Bashir Sharaf, and Doaa’s child, a one-year-old son Obaida Mahmoud Abdel Karim Haniyeh, were killed.

Fatma Mohammed referred to Doaa Sharaf as a media personality, adding that she was killed along with her child and that some of her family members were still under the rubble. According to the Shireen Monitor and Genocide in Gaza websites, Doaa was a broadcaster/presenter for Sawt al-Aqsa Radio in Gaza and the wife of fellow journalist Mahmoud Haniyeh of the Al-Resalah Media Foundation. Both websites featured her portrait in a grey dress, a beige hijab, wearing large earphones.

The profile of the infant son of Doaa, Obaida, on the Genocide in Gaza website featured an image of a small boy with dark curly hair and dark eyes dressed in a beige T-shirt and shorts, sitting in an armchair.

Dr. Khaled Muhammad Sharaf’s family

Omar Sharaf’s brother, 53-year-old  Dr. Khaled (Khalil Muhammad) Sharaf, his wife (possibly 45-year-old Hoda Saeed Abdel Sharaf), his 20-year-old son, a nurse Abdullah, his 17-year-old son Karim, and his 12-year-old son Jodi were killed. Family member @_Ysharaf identified Khaled Sharaf as a “doctor and lecturer at Al-Aqsa University.” A nephew of Omar Sharaf (Abu Ismail) stated that approximately 50 members of the family had been killed and that “All the words of the Arabic language cannot describe the sadness and oppression in our hearts over this great affliction”. Other family members, including @_Ysharaf, identified 37 members of the family killed.

Among the possible victims of the strike, although not mentioned in the sources,  a 56-year-old woman, Amal Hassan Mahmoud Sharaf, and a 59-year-old man, Kafa Abdullah Hassan Sharaf, were indicated at Shireen monitor, a Palestinian organisation documenting the names of civilians killed, as those who were killed on October 25, 2023.

The Radwan family

At least 15 members of the Radwan family were reportedly killed in the strike, across three generations.

Hassan Radwan and other members of the Al-Mahlawi family provided the names of the family members killed: grandmother Buthaina Radwan (Al-Mahlawi), killed alongside her 33-year-old son, a lawyer Mahmoud Awni (Mohammad) Al-Mahlawi, her 22-year-old son Osama Awni (Mohammad)  Al-Mahlawi, her 13-year-old daughter Faten Awni (Mohammad) Al-Mahlawi, her 34-year-old son Muhammad Awni (Mohammad) Al-Mahlawi, Muhammad’s 32-year-old wife Asmaa Jihad Mohammad Abu Al-Amrain (Al-Mahlawi), Muhammad and Asmaa’s 11-year-old child Rawad Muhammad Awni Al-Mahlawi, their six-year-old daughter Habiba Muhammad Awni Al-Mahlawi, and their four-year-old son Abd al-Rahman Awni Muhammad Al-Mahlawi.

Buthaina’s daughter, 31-year-old Mona Aouni (Mohammad) Al-Mahlawi, was also killed alongside her 40-year-old husband, a nurse Walid Abdel Al Haq Al-Mahlawi, their three daughters  – 11-year-old Nagham Walid Al Mahlawi, 10-year-old Nada Walid Al Mahlawi, five-year-old Hoda Walid Al-Mahlawi, and two-year-old son Moaz Walid Al-Mahlawi.

A profile of Walid Al-Mahlawi at the website Genocide in Gaza stated that he was 40 years old and worked as a nurse.

Hassan Radwan posted a condolence message for his wife’s aunt, Buthaina, along with her children, “the friend Muhammad” and his wife and three children, “the lawyer Mahmoud”, and Mona and her husband Walid and their four children. Early reports noted that two of Buthaina’s other children Osama and Faten were still under the rubble, though they were later reported killed.

The Al-Banna family

68-year-old engineer Mufid Fayez Al-Banna and his wife Nourhan Nour Al-Din (Al-Banna) (possibly matched to 63-year-old Nourhan Saleem Mahmoud al-Banna) were killed, and their daughter Asmaa Al-Banna was injured. Mahmoud Hamada described Mufid Fayez as his “dear uncle, my father-in-law, my friend, and my brother” adding that “eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your departure, our dear martyr.” Asmaa Al Banna was rescued from under the rubble after four days, and one source described it as “Asmaa is living with a divine miracle”. Asmaa’s brother, Mohammad Al-Banna, mourned for his parents and reported that as of November 6th, Asmaa was still being treated in intensive care.

The Jarada family

At least 17 members of the Jarada family were reported killed across three generations. Their names were identified by family members on social media.

Marwan Al Maidana was among those posting condolence messages for the following family members: the father, 65-year-old Nasr Rabah (Salamuah) Jarada (Abu Tamer), his 54-year-old wife, Naama (Ali Ibrahim) Abu Al-Ezz (Jarada), their two daughters,  29-year-old Nisreen Nasr Rabah Jarada and 31-year-old Haneen Nasr Rabah Jarada, and a son, Tamer Nasr Rabah Jarada whose age is unknown.

Nasr and Naama’s grandchildren were also killed, identified as seven-year-old Nasr Mahmoud Jarada and 12-year-old Abdullah Mahmoud Jarada.

Nasr’s brother, 75-year-old Harbi Rabah (Salamuah) Jarada (Abu Rabah), Harbi’s wife, 78-year-old  Fawzia (Hamdan Ahmed) Abu Al-Auf (Jarada), their 53-year-old son Rabah Harbi Jarada (Abu Omar), Rabah’s wife, Ruba Al-Qaisi (Jarada), Rabah and Ruba’s sons – 19-year-old Harbi Rabah Jarada, and 22-year-old Kariam Rabah Jarada were also killed.

In the post by Marwan Al Maidana, Rabah Harbi Jarada (Abu Omar) is referred to as a “retired Colonel”, Harbi Rabah Jarada (Abou Rabah) is referred to as “retired Major General”, and Muhammad Harbi Jarada (Abu Yusef) as “Colonel”. As a retired member of the armed forces, Rabah would not be classified as a combatant.

Another son of Harbi and Fawzia, 47-year-old Muhammad Harbi Jarada (Abu Yusef) was killed alongside his 42-year-old wife, Hala Ahmed Saleh (Jarada), and their two daughters, 13-year-old Habiba Muhammad Harbi Jarada and 20-year-old Maymana Muhammad Harbi Jarada.

42-year-old Hala Saleh worked in several institutions, including Takaful Insurance and the International Knowledge Rest Initiative, and “books were her treasure”, according to the report by “Martyrs of Gaza,” and “because the blockade made everything in Gaza difficult to access, Hala struggled a lot, dreaming only of a large library that would open its doors to readers in Gaza.”

Her brother Haitham admired her intelligence: “My older sister, my little mother… how big was your heart, encompassing everyone. How cultured and mature was your mind, containing words, poems, novels, books, and proverbs. My heart will beat with your spirit and eternal love. Hala, the beloved of my heart.” Martyrs of Gaza added two images of Hala. In one of them, she was portrayed wearing a white dress and a beige hijab, standing in front of the cafe.

Reem Jawad EL-samouni expressed sympathy to Marwa N. Jarad, head of her family, who lost 17 members of her family, adding that at the time of posting, the day after the attack, other members of her family were still under the rubble.

The Muhanna family

At least five members of the Muhanna family were reportedly killed in the strike. A post by Yousif A Muhanna mourned the loss of his family members: his 55-year-old father Adnan (Yousef Abd Al-Hani) Muhanna, his 56-year-old mother Ibtisam Hosni Muhanna, his 17-year-old sister Dima Adnan (Yousef ) Muhanna, his 26-year-old wife, a pharmacist Rawand (Khaled) Al-Banna, and his one-year-old son Adnan Youssef Adnan Muhanna. Yousif also posted a picture of his son Adnan, describing him as “My son, the lover of my soul (Adnan). All I know is that in losing you, I lose myself.”

A tweet from @fidaazaanin told the story of someone from the “Muhanna’s house” (seeming to indicate the family above) who lost their whole family in the bombing – mother, father, brother, nephew, except for one of their brothers who went out to the store to get food just before the bombing, and was the only one to survive. At the time, 120 people were still reportedly under the rubble.

The Mahdi family

Seven members of the Mahdi family were killed in the strike. A post from Abd Rahim Mahdi memorialized members of his family killed: 36- or 37-year-old accountant Khalil Akram (Khalil) Mahdi, Khalil’s wife, 37-year-old teacher  Sali Ibrahim Mahdi (Labed), Khalil and Sali’s 14-year-old daughter Nesreen Khalil Mahdi, Khalil and Sali’s 13-year-old daughter Talin Khalil Mahdi, Khalil and Sali’s 11-year-old son Akram Khalil Mahdi. Khalil. Sali’s daughter, Lauren Khalil Mahdi, six months old, was injured and was the only survivor of the entire family.

Khalil’s cousins, 32-year-old Ahmad Zakariya Mahdi and a female Hind Mahdi, were also killed. ABO MANAR posted a condolence message for his brother-in-law “Ibrahim Labad” Abu Muhammad” whose daughter Sali, her husband Khalil, and their three children were killed. According to Khalil’s brother, his six-month-old daughter (Lauren) survived the attack and was found in her mother’s arms. A cousin of Khalil, Ahmed, and Hind (mother of Ibrahim Al-Zant), named Abd Rahim Mahdi, posted a condolence message for the Mahdi family.

A brother of the late Sali, 36-year-old Muhammad Labed, spoke to a B’Tselem researcher, telling the tragic story of his sister’s family’s death.

“Sali and Khalil got married in 2002. She was a schoolteacher and he was an accountant. They lived in an apartment they bought not long ago in the al-Taj Tower on Al-Jalaa Street in Gaza City. They weren’t even done paying for the apartment.

On 25 October 2023, around 4:00 P.M., Israel bombed the tower. There were more than 100 people living in it, as well as displaced persons sheltering there. Sali, her husband, and three of their children – Nisrin, Talin and Akram – were martyred. Of the entire family, Lurein is the only one left. A civil rescue team got her out alive. They heard her screaming, removed the debris and found her in her bed.”

Lurein was wounded in the thigh and had burns on her foot. She was taken to a-Shifaa Hospital, where they stitched the wounds and treated her burns.  Muhammad told B’Tselem Lurein was now staying with his family, and lamented her tragic life story:

“The conditions here are very bad. We try to give her whatever she needs. After all, she lost so much. The army bombed and killed her parents and siblings with no justification. I don’t know how this baby will adjust to life without them, and I don’t know what we’ll tell her. My sister’s family was erased from the population registry in a single moment, as if they never existed. Parents living quietly and happily at home with their children, turned in one instant into bodies under rubble.”

The Al-Ramlawi family

Khaled Al-Ramlawi posted a memorial for his family members killed, identifying them as: his father 71-year-old Saeed (Hussein Ali) Al-Ramlawi (Abu Amer), his mother, 64-year-old  Masara (Abdel Salem) Al-Ramlawi (Umm Amer), his daughter Alina (Khaled Said) Al-Ramlawi (three years old according to the post, and two years old according to the MoH list), his brother,  41-year-old nursing director Aamer Saeed Al-Ramlawi (Abu Al-Saeed), Amer’s son, Ibrahim (Amer Saeed) Al-Ramlawi (12 years old) and Amer’s daughter Ruba (Amer Saeed) Al-Ramlawi (17 years old).

According to the report by Al Jazeera, Aamer Saeed Al-Ramlawi was a nursing director at al-Sorani Clinic and the father of five children, two daughters and three sons.  His cousin and best friend, Hassan Youssef al-Ramlawi, remembered the late Aamer as the one “full of life”. According to Hassan, Aamer’s spirit was unmatched, full of happiness and love. Hassan also added that whenever someone called Aamer for help, he would rush to them, even if we were hanging out together. He always had chocolate in his pockets for the kids and took tonnes of photos every time we went somewhere. His biggest fear was losing someone he loved, and he would pray constantly that everyone would stay safe.

Hassan also added that Aamer wasn’t just his cousin; he was his brother, his friend, and his soulmate.” Amid his sadness about Aamer’s death, Hassan was also painfully aware that the places he spent time with his cousin have also been obliterated. “Israel didn’t even give me the chance to remember him, destroying those places. Nonetheless, I will store our memories in a special box in my mind.”

Among the killed were also Khaled’s brother, 36-year-old Muhammad  (Saeed Hussein) Al-Ramlawi (Abu Al-Baraa), Muhammad’s wife, 31-year-old Heba (Osama Khalil) Al-Ramlawi (Umm Al-Baraa), Khaled’s sister, Rami (Saeed Hussein) Al-Ramlawi (14 years old), Khaled’s sister Rana (Saeed Hussein) Ramlawi (13 years old), Khaled’s sister Ritaal (Saeed Hussein) Ramlawi (six years old), Khaled’s brother Ahmed’s wife Abeer Salem Youssef  Al-Ramlawi (Umm Yahya) (37 years old), Ahmed and Abeer’s daughter Nour (Ahmed Saeed) Al-Ramlawi (19 years old), Ahmed and Abeer’s daughter Malak (Ahmed Saeed) Al-Ramlawi (10 years old), Khaled’s brother Hazem’s wife, 37-year-old  Yasmine (Ahmed Khamis) Al-Ramlawi (Umm Anas), Hazem and Yasmine’s son Anas  (Hazem Saeed) Al-Ramlawi (12 years old), Hazem and Yasmine’s son Saeed (Hazem Saeed) Al-Ramlawi (five years old), Hazem and Yasmine’s daughter Judy Al-Ramlawi (seven years old), and 42-year-old Etaf (Abdul Rahim) Al-Ramlawi. Khaled’s daughter, Sham Al-Ramlawi, Osama Delki, and Hamoud Ahmad Al-Ramlawi, were injured.

According to @nanouhnm, members of the Ramlawi family placed a distress call from under the rubble and were then rescued by the defense crews. Flowra Nu’man Al Masri posted the voice call from the family, where they said “We are sending a call for help from under the rubble of the 4th floor of Al Taj 3 building and our names are Khaled Saeed Al Ramlawi, Osama Al Daki, Saeed Amer Al Ramlawi, Hamoud Ahmad Al Ramlawi.” The source added that the survivors were recovering well, while another source added that the family members had been under the rubble for eight hours before they were rescued.

Soha Mohamedeen posted a condolence message for his colleague and brother Amer Al-Ramlawi (Abu Al-Saeed), who was described as being “respected, able, and wise”. Khaled Al Ramlaw mourned “the martyrdom of my sister, the love of my heart and the joy of my eyes (Yasmine Ahmed Al-Ramlawi) and her eldest son, the martyr (Anas Hazem Al-Ramlawi)”.

Khaled Al Ramlawi wrote about spending the morning of the strike with Alina Al-Ramlawi: “I woke up and found Sham and Alina playing, so I called Sham, and Alina came with her, as if she was telling me these are my last hours in this world. I want to play with you, because you will never see me again. Alina went as a martyr to a merciful and kind God, and was buried in the same red clothes of hers. As for Sham, she remained alive as a witness to the crime. She was injured in the face and foot after thousands of tons of explosives were thrown at us… Will Sham remember her sister, Alina, when she grows up?”

The Bakhit family

According to the Facebook post by Ahmed Bakhet, the Bakhit family lost 17 members in the deadly strike.

A post by Majid Said memorialized Mr. Saeed Bakhit (Abu Osama), who was killed alongside his sons, and Dr. Muhammad Bakhit (Abu Yasser) and his family.

64-year-old Muhammad (Hassan Rabah) Bakhit was Dean of the Faculty at the Islamic University, a researcher, and a professor of Contemporary Doctrine and Sects. He was killed alongside his wife, whose name is unknown, his daughter and her children, his 37-year-old son Yasser Mohammad Hassan Bakhit, Yasser’s wife, and Yasser’s nine-year-old daughter Sameirah Yasser Mohammad Bakhit.   

29-year-old Tasneem Bakhit, a journalist for the local pro-Hamas Al-Saada magazine, was also killed in the strike, according to the report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, who interviewed her surviving sister Somaia and her colleague Diana Al-Maghribi.

“On Wednesday afternoon, my sister Tasneem was with my family in their apartment in the Taj 3 Tower in the Yarmouk area west of Gaza City when the Israeli warplanes targeted the entire residential area, destroying all the towers and killing dozens, including my sister Tasneem, my parents, my other two brothers and sisters, and their children,” Somaia Bkheet told CPJ.  It was not clear from the report, however, whether Tasneem was a daughter of Muhammad Bakhit.

Tasneem Bakhit had a bachelor’s degree in public relations and media at a university in Gaza, and “since graduating in 2018, she was able to write reports and investigations in Al-Saada magazine, and had proven her skills, and became one of its correspondents,” said her colleague Diana Al-Maghrib.

Among the victims within the family was also a 29-year-old woman, Samia Akram Abdel Qader Bakhit, who died on that day, according to the Shireen monitor website.

The Mansour family also put out an appeal to have their family members rescued the day after the bombing, noting that members of their family were still missing under the rubble.

The Mansour family

The Mansour family house, located on Al-Jalaa Street next to the Al Taj Tower, behind the Zaharna Building, was also attacked and destroyed in the devastating attack, as reported by @Yasser_Gaza. A Facebook post by Wafa’ Abdel Rahman contained the call to rescue the remaining members of the family.

According to the website Genocide in Gaza, five members of the Mansour family were killed. 48-year-old Abdul Hadi Abdul Raouf Abdul Hadi Mansour was killed alongside his three daughters, 21-year-old Malak Abdul Hadi Abdul Raouf Mansour, 16-year-old Hana Abdel Hadi Abdel Raouf Mansour, 25-year-old Amal Abdel Hadi Abdel Raouf Mansour, and his granddaughter, two-year-old Julia Abdel Rahim Saadi Mansour. 

“Martyrs of Gaza” dedicated one of its reports to the perished Malak Mansour, who used to study commerce at the Islamic University, and was killed along with her father, two sisters and her sister’s daughter in the strike on their family home. Malak reportedly “loved everyone, had a pure heart,” and was very diligent and enthusiastic about the day of her graduation. Her friend Karmel Al-Maqadma admired her: “Malak was my friend and like a sister to me. I don’t have sisters, but I was fortunate to have Malak as my sister. Malak loved Gaza a lot, and she loved the sea. This is a picture of us on Rashid Street, now reduced to rubble. We had agreed to meet during the winter break. ” The picture portrayed two young girls sitting on asphalt on Rashid Street and laughing.  In another image shared by “Martyrs of Gaza”, Malak is seen smiling and holding a birthday cake with the candles in the form of the letter 21.

Individuals

An additional victim was mentioned by Mohmmad Shabir, who posted a condolence message for his uncle, 44-year-old Sakhr Yahya Hassouna Shabir, who was killed.

Where possible, the names of the victims have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023, the MoH has released eight lists, along with an additional list of medical professionals, which was released on September 17, 2024. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, most of the names were matched to the second “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on January 7, 2024.  Additional middle names of victims within parentheses were found from the MoH list rather than local sources.

The ages of some victims have been found by cross-checking names against lists of fatalities shared online by Genocide in Gaza, which has a list of “martyrs” of Israeli forces, which includes the name of the victim, their age, their date of death, and the “circumstances of martyrdom.”

Photo and video evidence

Images posted by @Yasser_Gaza showed men, women, and children being treated for their injuries in Al-Shifa hospital. Medical services – Gaza Strip posted images of the ambulance and emergency crews at the General Directorate of Ansar Station pulling killed and injured civilians from the rubble. According to @alyredaa, more than 500 people were in the residential tower when the bombing occurred.

According to the report by Al Jazeera, as two boys pulled from the rubble were carried away on a stretcher, arms around each other, they cried out: “Thank you, civil defence! We love you!” The report contained many striking images taken by Abdelhakim Abu Riash, which showed the rescue of civilians from the rubble. In one of the images, a man rescued from under the rubble, whose face was covered with blood, was hugged by a relative who also survived the alleged Israeli attack. Another image showed a man carrying a Palestinian woman who had also been rescued from the rubble.

The location of the strikes was identified by @MOHGaza1994 as being the Al-Taj building, Al-Yarmouk Street, Al-Jalaa Street, and Al-Sharq Bakery, as well as the houses around them, resulting in the destruction of dozens of homes, with one source mentioning that the “Al Yarmouk residential neighborhood” was completely destroyed. The report by Responsible Statecraft alleged that the IDF flattened at least 5,700 square meters in the Yarmouk neighbourhood.

A tweet from @Osint613 mentioned the strike appeared to target an alleged tunnel network.

Yasmin Hasweh reported that the Taj Residential Towers, which were 12 floors high, were flattened by more than 30 bunker-buster bombs that struck the residential square in less than five minutes.  According to an Al Jazeera report, the Israeli military allegedly used at least 30 missiles (bombs), leveling at least eight inhabited apartment buildings.

The report by Responsible Statecraft stated that, according to the  UN assessment, “several” 2,000-pound GBU-31 air-dropped munitions were likely dropped by Israeli forces in the attack.

The source, along with many others, including @OrientNews, specified that the strike occurred without prior warning.