Airwars assessment
At least 18 civilians from three generations of the al-Ashqar family – including seven women, six children, one infant, and three doctors (two of whom were among the seven women) – were reportedly killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the al-Ashqar family home late in the evening of Saturday 28th October 2023.
Ahmed al-Ashqar, writing on Facebook the day after the strike, identified 18 relatives from three generations of his family who had been killed in the incident. The names of 16 of the 18 relatives identified by Ahmed al-Ashqar have been matched to the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on 24th July 2024. The ages of those killed and some additional middle names have been included below from information provided in the Palestinian Ministry of Health list.
Grandfather Dr. Abdullah Mustafa Matar al-Ashqar, who was 69 years old, was killed alongside his 55-year-old wife, the grandmother Kawkab Saeed Marouf (Kawkab Saeed Abdul Ashqar). The grandparents lost four daughters, one son, two sons-in-law, five grandsons, and two granddaughters as a result of the alleged Israeli airstrike which killed them.
The daughters of Dr. Abdullah Mustafa Matar al-Ashqar and Kawkab Saeed Marouf killed in the strike were 26-year-old Dr. Israa Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar, 22-year-old Dr. Nour al-Huda Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar, 33-year-old Sabreen Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar, who was an engineer, and 30-year-old Iman Abdullah al-Ashqar, who was a teacher. The son killed was 18-year-old Sajid Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar, who was an engineer like his sister, Sabreen.
Sabreen Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar’s 41-year-old husband Hazem Khalil Khalil al-Ashqar was also killed alongside their 6-year-old son Mohammed Hazem al-Ashqar and their 9-year-old daughter Janin Hazem al-Ashqar. Two further sons, the children Khalil Hazem al-Ashqar and Omar Hazem al-Ashqar, were also identified by Ahmed al-Ashqar as being killed in the strike. Their exact ages are unknown because their names were not found on the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities.
Iman Abdullah al-Ashqar was also killed alongside her husband Musab Khalil Khalil al-Ashqar, who was 36 years old and shared her profession as a teacher. They also lost two sons, Omair Musab al-Ashqar, who was 6, and Khalil Musab al-Ashqar, who was a one-year-old infant, as well as one daughter, 3-year-old Taqi Musab al-Ashqar.
Lastly, Dr. Abdullah Mustafa Matar al-Ashqar’s 71-year-old sister Sabah Mustafa Matar al-Ashqar was also killed in the strike alongside her 29-year-old daughter Maryam Khalil al-Ashqar.
It is possible that one further unidentified member of the al-Ashqar family may have also been killed in the strike. Some sources, including Mahmoud Languer, posting on Facebook, indicated that 18 members of the al-Ashqar family had been killed in the strike in addition to Dr. Israa Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar, which would raise the full toll to 19.
Many paid tribute to Dr. Israa Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar, an anaesthetist and intensive care physician at the Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza, on social media. Shoukri Sultan, writing on Twitter/X, explained that Dr. Israa Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar had been on duty at the hospital for several days prior to the strike on her home and had been killed whilst taking the opportunity to visit her family. He described her as “one of the most humane, diligent, and ethical doctors.”
Doaa Ramlawi, meanwhile, wrote that “my relationship with [Dr. Israa Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar] was only through Twitter and by God she was like a balm on a wound. I saw nothing but good from her and her treatment was very kind, a conscious, educated person with a degree of respect.”
Noran Reda, also writing on Twitter/X, further described Dr. Israa Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar as a “kind, cheerful, beautiful young woman” noting that she had graduated two years ago.
Multiple sources, including the Palestinian Information Centre, reported that Dr. Israa Abdullah Mustafa al-Ashqar’s body was transported to the Indonesian hospital in a truck following the strike, after contact with the ambulance sent to her was lost. A video circulated on Twitter/X, originally posted by Qatari news network al-Jazeera and shared by Dr Sam Youssef, reportedly showed her body being unloaded from the truck upon its arrival at the hospital.
Other family members were also mourned by friends, family, and colleagues on social media. Jasser Az, for example, mourned his “friend and colleague” Hazem Khalil Khalil al-Ashqar.
Furthermore, several, such as Muhammad Galal, offered their condolences to Dr. Muhammad Abdullah al-Ashqar, a relative of those killed.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.
The strike occurred around 23:45 local time.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza, released July 24, 2024.
The incident occured at approximately 11:30 pm local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (18)
Family members
Summary
Sources (26) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (12) [ collapse]
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: @Alashqar_pal -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: @iNoranReda -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: @iNoranReda -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Jasser Az -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Atyaf -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Haraa2020 -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Doaa Ramlawi -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Sidali Meziane -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.