At least 17 civilians and at least one Hamas militant were killed after a declared Israeli airstrike on the Al-Shati Boys Elementary School (Shuhaybar School) in the Al-Shati Refugee Camp west of Gaza City on 7 November, 2024. The school was reportedly housing thousands of displaced people at the time of the strike. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had conducting the strike, saying that it targeted “terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center [that] previously served” as the school.

The Shabat Family

Fourteen members of the Shabat family were reported killed, among them several children and at least one confirmed militant. 51-year-old Awni Yousef Ahmed Shabat, was killed with seven of his children: his daughters, 12-year-old Mayar Awni Yousef Shabat, eight-year-old Sarah Awni Yousef Shabat, two or three-year-old Iyas Awni Yousef Shabat, 14-year-old Rana Awni Yousef Shabat, 18-year-old Ruqayya Awni Yousef Shabat and 16-year-old Maysoon Awni Yousef Shabat; and his son, 20-year-old Yousef Awni Yousef Shabat.

Awni’s brother, Alaa Yousef Ahmed Shabat was also killed with his four children. His sons five-year-old Mohammad Alaa Yousef Shabat and Yousef Alaa Yousef Shabat were both killed, as were his daughters, six or seven-year-old Ruqayya Alaa Yousef Shabat, 18-year-old Asmaa Alaa Yousef Shabat and 20-year-old Khansa Alaa Yousef Shabat.

Alaa Yousef Ahmed Shabat has been classified as a militant, as there are multiple references to likely militant activity as a member of Hamas’ al-Qassam wing. Facebook user Ahmed Yousef Shabat remembered Alaa Shabat as a “great Mujahid leader,” and referenced “thirty years of steadfastness and jihad.”  Facebook user Al-Baraa Shabat compared Ala’a Shabat to former al-Qassam brigade commander Emad Akel, as well as writing that Ala’a was a “companion on the path of Al-Ghandour, […] Al-Deif, and the first group of Commander Salah Shehadeh”. It is likely that the “Al-Ghandour” referenced here is Ahmed al-Ghandour, a senior member of the al-Qassam Brigade who was killed in November 2023; “Al-Deif” refers to an al-Qassam commander killed in November 2024; Salah Shehadeh was a militant leader within Hamas, killed in 2002. It appears Ala’a’s son Nidal Shabat was involved in Hamas militancy on 7 October 2023 and was killed.

While a Facebook post from “Al-Masry Family Forum Beit Hanoun in the homeland and diaspora” described both the Shabat brothers as “martyr hero[es]”,  user Ibrahim Abu Shamekh Shabat, in referencing Alaa Shabat as “the leader and mujahid” also referred to Awni Shabat as a “mujahid”. While Ala’a has been understood as a militant because of repeated references to militancy, Awni has been categorised as a “contested civilian,” due to the lack of further information regarding possible belligerent status.

Many decried the loss of members of the Shabat family. Twitter/X user @Nasamat1902 emphasised the toll on surviving family members, focusing on Hossam Shabat, a journalist who was sent “to cover a massacre, only to find that its victims were his family.” A photograph attached to the statement showed men grappling with the loss as they looked over 11 body bags, some blood-stained.

Hossam himself was stoic in his first public announcement of his family’s deaths, writing only that “a massacre against the Shabat family” occurred, and listing the names of the deceased.

Direct relatives also grieved the loss of their family members. Facebook user Ayoosha included a photo collage of the family members: out of the 14 pictured, at least seven appear as young children. While one boy is pictured wearing a possible al-Qassam headband, based on his age he has been categorised as a civilian.

The al-Fere Brothers

Two brothers – eight or nine-year-old Mohammed Mohammed al-Fere and one or two-year-old Kenan Mohammed al-Fere – were reported killed. Facebook user Mohammed Shbier asked “God to accept them with His vast mercy,” and posted a photograph of two people holding body bags; the young age of both boys is seen by the small size of the shrouds. Yousef El Hnawey posted photographs of the two boys. Mohammed is seen wearing a child-size, flag-printed keffiyeh, and Kenan is pictured in a red shirt. It appears their father had been killed “at the beginning of the war”, according to Facebook user Em Wael, who remembered both boys as “beloved ones.”

Additional casualties

Along with the members of the three families killed, 32-year-old Khader Anwar Hamdan, 16-year-old Majd Moataz Adwan and Mohammed Fayeq al-Kafarna were also identified as killed.

Users posted an after-death photograph of Majd Moataz Adwan; staring sightlessly, he is lying on the ground, partially covered in a crumpled green sheet. Majd’s cousin, Eadwen Shady, asked that Majd be given “a spacious place in heaven” and offered prayers for Majd’s surviving mother. Asking that Majd be “place[d] in the gardens of bliss”, Majd’s cousin Mohammed Adwan remembered him as “decent” and hoped that his family would be imbued with “patience and solace in this painful affliction.”

Munitions expert Trevor Ball specified on Twitter/X that a Small Diameter Bomb/GBU-39 missile was used, the remaining nose cone of which reportedly was been found at the location. This identification was later included as entry OSMP1098 on the Open Source Munitions Portal. The GBU-39 is an American made munition.

@Almoalm03797047 shared a video of people fleeing the school, alleging that after a first strike which killed 12, the “Israeli army […] after a short time […] asked the residents to evacuate the school within seconds in preparation for its complete destruction.” A tweet from @HamlaKaddour also mentioned that “After they initially bombed the Shuhaybar School without warning, they later began calling civilians with a “warning” of another imminent attack.”

Multiple sources mentioned that “dozens” and “a large number” were wounded in the attack but none provided a toll. Twitter/X user @ayman_abed93 attached “pictures from the raid”, many of which featured injured children. Six children can be seen on hospital beds, while a woman cradles a toddler in her arms. A further photograph shows a man hugging an injured woman, whose head has been heavily bandage-wrapped. A photograph credited to Anadolu Agency and shared by Quds Press Agency capturing the “farewell of the families of the martyrs” shows a young man hugging a woman, pain evidently etched on his face.

A video shared by Facebook user Zahraa Al Masri documented “the first moments after the Israeli airstrikes bombed the ‘Shahibar’ school”: the air is permeated with dust, and multiple casualties are apparent. At least three children appear injured, as others are laden with bags and backpacks as they flee the school. Two men are deceased, both lying on the ground. Another deceased man is carried out of the school on a blanket; he appears as a young man or teenager.

On 11 November 2024, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strike on Telegram, writing that the air force division had “conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center [that] previously served as the UNRWA ‘Al-Shataa School’”. The IDF wrote that their forces took “numerous steps […] to mitigate the risk of harming civilians” and condemned “the Hamas terrorist organization’s systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure”. At time of writing, Airwars has not been able to verify claims that the school was used as a Hamas operation point but there was at least one militant found among those killed.

Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the eighth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list.

Where not matched to the MoH lists, the ages of victims have been found by cross-checking names against lists of fatalities shared online by Shireen Monitor, an organisation which has a list of “Martyrs of Palestine” from 2023 onward.

On February 13, 2025, the names of victims Omar Saber Mohammed Abu Amsha, Sherifa Mohammed Ali Abu Amsha and Mohammed Othman Saber  Abu Amsha were removed and included in incident ISPT071124u based on newly discovered local sources which described the location of their death as belonging to incident ISPT071124u.