At 4:20 AM on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 29 civilians, including eight women and thirteen children, were killed and others were wounded in an alleged Israeli airstrike on residential buildings in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City in the Gaza Strip.

On November 4, Mahmoud al-Kahlot, the surviving son of “Haj” Abdul Karim Mahmoud al-Kahlot detailed the alleged Israeli strike on his family’s home that killed many of his relatives, explaining that “on October 25, 2023, at 04:20, Israeli… planes targeted the house in which we stayed (thinking that it was safer than our house)” and added the names of his deceased relatives. His Facebook post and tributes of other relatives posted on social media helped to identify the names of 29 victims in total.

72-year-old Nahed Muhammad Hanoun (Abu Muhammad) was killed alongside his wife, 59-year-old Wafa Abdel Qader Hanoun, their 36-year-old son Muhammad Nahed Hanoun, Muhammad’s wife, 34-year-old Sahar Abdul Karim Mahmoud Al-Kahlot, their three daughters, nine-year-old Wafa Muhammad Hanoun, seven-year-old Eileen Muhammad Hanoun and seven-year-old Celine Muhammad Hanoun and two sons –  three-year-old Nahed Muhammad Hanoun and an infant child named Ahmed Muhammad Hanoun.

On October 26, Facebook user Haron Haron shared a smiling photo of Muhammad Nahed Hanoun, writing “do not think that those who were killed in the cause of God are dead, but rather alive with their Lord, provided for by the martyrdom of the hero Muhammad Nahed Hanoun and a number of his relatives. Among them were targeted in the al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza.” A relative of the victims, Wafaa Haroon, posted that “the body of my aunt Wafa Haroun, her husband Nahed Hanoun, and her son Muhammad Hanoun were recovered from under the rubble in Gaza.”

Nahed and Wafa’s daughter-in-law, 21-year-old Samar Rafiq Youssef al-Majdalawi and her son, 2-year-old Abdul Hadi Mahmoud Hanoun were killed in the alleged Israeli strike as well. Nahed’s brother, 62-year-old Hani Muhammad Hanoun  was also killed, along with his son, 16-year-old Muhammad Hani Hanoun and 12-year-old daughter Fatima Hani Hanoun.

Another brother of Nahed, 58-year-old Abdul Salam Muhammad Hanoun was killed alongside his 53-year-old wife Mazyouna Hanoun and their daughters, 29-year-old Abeer Abdel Salam Hanoun and 17-year-old Ohood Abdel Salam Hanoun, and sons 23-year-old Ahed Abdel Salam Hanoun and 15-year-old Omar Abdel Salam Hanoun.

A third brother of Nahed, 61-year-old Fikri Abdel Majeed Hanoun and his 63-year-old wife Sana Fadl Hanoun were also killed.

Surviving relative Muayed Badwan shared a photo of his uncle Fikri Abdel Majeed Hanoun and mourned his beloved family members who were killed in the alleged strike, explaining that “the news of the martyrdom of my dear uncle: Fikri Abdel Majeed Hanoun and his wife was confirmed after they were pulled from under the rubble. I offer my condolences to his patient sons Abdel Majeed, Awni, Taher and Ahmed. I also offer my condolences to my patient and devoted mother, and I would like to say the following: My uncle’s only sin was that he was an ordinary person with a kind heart and a wise mind. The world did not give him much education, but what he learned from it was much more. He was a simple, humble person who was consistent in his prayers, of good character and appearance, kind, funny and of sound mind. He raised his children well, so martyrdom was fitting for him and his good end.” Muayed added that “As for the martyrs, they were never and will never be just numbers in a statistic. They are stories told about people who were among us and influenced us.”

Multiple members of the al-Kahlot family, related to Sahar Abdul Karim Mahmoud Al-Kahlot, were also among those killed. Sahar’s father Abdul Karim Mahmoud al-Kahlot  was killed along with Sahar’s sister, 28-year-old Halima Abdul Karim al-Kahlot.

Halima and Sahar’s sister-in-law 30-year-old Kholoud Muhammad Mudari Abu Okal (al-Kahlot), married to their brother Mahmoud, their son Iyas Mahmoud al-Kahlot, and their daughters Celia Mahmoud al-Kahlot and Lilia Mahmoud al-Kahlot were also killed in the alleged strike. According to the post by Mustafa Hanoon, Iyas, Lilia and Celia were children. A relative of the Hanoun family, the husband of Nahed, Hani, Abdul Salam, and Fikri’s sister, Riyad Muhammad al-Khatib (59) was killed as well.

On October 27, Nahed Muhammad Hanoun and Wafa Abdel Qader Hanoun’s surviving son, Mustafa Hanoun provided an update on the “al-Hanoun massacre,” writing that “54 [people were] present in the house,” including “old and young” people and 18 women and 19 children. At that point, 25 people had “been rescued from the rubble so far” but there were still “22 missing people under the rubble of the house…including the son of the martyr Muhammad, two months old.” According to Mustafa, there were “7 [known] martyrs so far.” A post from Wafaa Haroon included a prayer to “heal our wounded” indicating that some members of the family were wounded. However, it is unclear how many were wounded

On October 29, Mustafa Hanoun mourned his missing and deceased family members on Facebook, describing “the inability of the Civil Defense to recover the rest of the bodies of the martyrs so far due to rescue priorities” and wrote that “I mourn my family and loved ones who were martyrs.” Listing his loved ones who were killed in the alleged strike, Mustafa indicated that many of them still had not been recovered.

Abdul Karim Mahmoud al-Kahlot’s surviving daughter, Samah A. Kareem, shared photographs of a number of of the victims of the alleged strike – many of whom were children and infants – and wrote that “the eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your separation…The martyrdom of my father, Abdul Karim Mahmoud Al-Kahlot, my sister, Sahar, her husband, Muhammad Hanoun, and their five children Nahed, Wafa, Eileen, Celine, Ahmed, and my sister, Halima Abdel Karim al-Kahlot, and my brother’s wife, Kholoud Abu Okal, and her three children Iyas, Celia, Lilia.”

The Agricultural Engineers Syndicate (Gaza Governate) “and all agricultural engineers extend[ed] their condolences and sympathy to fellow engineer Mustafa Nahed Hanoun, on the martyrdom of his mother, father, brother, and a large group of his family.”

On December 14, 2023, the @GazaMartyrs Twitter/X account posted about “28-year-old Palestinian artist” Halima Abdel Karim al-Kahlot who had “earned an artistic title in arts from Al-Aqsa University and was recognized for her unique perspective on life reflected in her artwork.” According to the post, “Halima worked as an art facilitator with the Palestinian Ministry of Culture and collaborated with various art centers.”  Gaza Martyrs added a black-white headshot of a young woman in a hijab.

Earlier, on October 29, Facebook user Mohammed al-Haj honored the 28-year-old artist, writing “Halima A. Karim, the fruit of workshops and art exhibitions.. I never imagined that one day I would mourn you on my page, Halima.. My last time with you was when you had the opportunity to teach at the University of Gaza and we went there together.. (Halima Abdel Karim Al-Kahlot), always present and in a way strong in all exhibitions and all events.. She was feisty, fun, and loved by those around her.. You left a huge void behind you, Halima, that cannot be filled.. You had a view of life that no one understood, and perhaps that is why you chose to leave early.. We will miss you greatly.. Goodbye. Oh Halima, may God make you dwell in the highest levels of Paradise.. God is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs over what we deprived of you.”

Where possible, names of the victims  have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health lists of fatalities in Gaza released on July 24, 2024.

Where sources identified the belligerent, the strike was attributed to Israeli forces.

The incident occured at 04:20:00 local time.