During the late evening of Saturday, November 4, 2023, an Israeli aircraft allegedly struck the home of the Abu Hasira family in the al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City, killing at least 37 family members, including a journalist, 13 children and 11 women, and injuring a number of other family members. The house, located near al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza, appeared to have been completely destroyed in images recorded by sources at the scene.

Although initial reports after the strike indicated that six people were killed, the toll increased dramatically over the following hours. At dawn on Sunday, November 5th, Shehab Agency reported that the number of “martyrs” had risen to 14. Later that day, the Palestinian Press Agency, referring to the Ministry of Health,  further raised the toll to 21, noting that most of the victims were women and children. 21 deceased reportedly arrived at al-Shifa Hospital following the attack.

Airwars has since been able to identify a total of 37 people killed in the strike. According to a Facebook post by Mohammed Taleb, who was mourning his friend and brother-in-law Hatem Hamza Abu Hasira, the toll could be as high as 54. The Facebook account of Shadi Press wrote about the arrival of 14 of those killed from the Abu Hasira house, including three unidentified bodies, and a number of injuries.

At least 25 of the victims spanned three family units. Numerous social media posts honoured the victims in the days following the bombing, some of them showing long lists of deceased relatives.

57-year-old Sami Kamal Abu Hasira (Abu Moaeen) was killed along with his 51-year-old wife Nahla [Muhammad Salah Rashad] Abu Hasira (Um Moaeen), their 25-year-old son Moaeen Sami Abu Hasira, and their 31-year-old daughter Alaa Sami Abu Hasira, who died with her 38-year-old husband Mohammed Moneer Abu Hasira and their two sons, nine-year-old Qusai Mohammed Moneer Abu Hasira and three-year-old Munther Mohammed Moneer Abu Hasira. Mohammed Moneer’s mother, 63-year-old Samia al-Qasab (Abu Hasira), was also killed.

In a mourning post, Hakim Abu Karsh shared a photo of Mohammed Moneer Abu Hasira leaning in front of a Chevrolet van with Dubai car plates. Hakim wrote that his friend, who was Algerian, had travelled to the Emirates to work and support his wife and children in Gaza. Feeling like a “stranger” abroad, he had returned to visit his family just two days before the strike.

33-year-old Mohammed Rashad Abu Hasira was killed along with his 28-year-old wife, Doha Sami Abu Hasira (another daughter of Sami and Nahla, sibling of Alaa and Moaeen), their four-year-old son Omar Mohammed Rashad Abu Hasira and their seven-year-old daughter, Sara Mohammed Rashad Abu Hasira. Mohammed Rashad’s brothers, 37-year-old Mahmoud Rashad Abu Hasira and 25-year-old Kamal Rashad Abu Hasira, were also killed, along with Kamal Rashad’s 18-year-old wife, Rahab Sami Abu Hasira (another daughter of Sami and Nahla, sibling of Alaa and Moaeen).

In a message posted on what would have been Omar Mohammed’s birthday, Abdul Rahman remembered his younger brother as a friend and a piece of his heart. “I miss your voice, your laughter, your spontaneity and every moment you were with me”, he wrote, adding that he had “died a thousand deaths” since his brother was killed.

Atya M Alzaq shared a photo of Kamal Rashad Abu Hasira, a football fan, wearing the Argentina National Team jersey and relaxing at the beach on a bright, sunny day. In the post, which also included photos of Mohammed Rashad Abu Hasira and his cousin, Moaeen Sami Abu Hasira, Atya lamented the loss of those he considered to be the “most merciful, dear, kind, pure, and pious friends”.

According to a Facebook post by Muhamad Altaahir Mustafaa Alsaeafin, Kamal Rashad, whom he met while studying at Al-Azhar Institute, was a “handsome, kind, calm and well-mannered young man” who started working immediately after finishing school and now owned a shop. He had married and moved into a new apartment just seven months earlier, with his brother Mohammed Rashad moving in with him.

Muhamad Altaahir showed gratitude towards both brothers, who supported him through difficult moments, and declared to have felt “overwhelmed by their feelings of affection and love”. He added that they invited him to stay at their home “for a long time” and had seen nothing from them but “a beautiful smile”. He last spoke to Kamal Rashad a few hours before the alleged bombing, and told him he was in his shop helping people affected by the violence and trying to “make the hardships they were facing easier for them”.

In the post, Muhamad Altaahir expressed with sorrow that his friends were “simple people” who never knew the “taste of comfort in order to earn their living”, and that way they had built their life “stone by stone”. “That was wiped out yesterday in a single moment”, he added. His words were accompanied by a collage of photos capturing many moments they shared together. In several selfies, the two friends appear together in what is likely Kamal Rashad’s shop or against a scenic backdrop of a field. He wrote: “O you who have departed from this life and are still living in my ribs…Do you hear my pain and the pain of the world with me?”

53-year-old correspondent of the Palestinian News and Information Agency WAFA, Mohammed Kamal [Rashad] Abu Hasira (Abu Mustafa) was killed with his 48-year-old wife, Houria Mohammed Abu Hasira (Um Mustafa), their sons, 22-year-old Mustafa Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira and 14-year-old Omar Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira and their daughters, 26-year-old Amal Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira – who died with her six-year-old son Ziad Abu Hasira and her four-year-old daughter Ghada Abu Hasira – and Israa Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira, who died with her daughters Alaa al-Khoudary and Sara al-Khoudary.

WAFA news agency posted a tribute to Mohammed Abu Hashira on its website, writing, “Our colleague Abu Hasira was killed in an Israeli bombardment that targeted his home near the fishermen’s port west of Gaza City, leading to his martyrdom and the deaths of 42 members of his family, including his sons and brothers.” The agency added an image of the late Mohammed who was a middle-aged man with short dark hair and a grey moustache wearing a keffiyeh.

Abed Al Rahman Mohammed Abu Hasira posted an “honour roll” of 30 relatives who were killed in the alleged bombing and declared to be “proud” of each of the “martyrs” from the alleged bombing, among them his mother, Houria Mohammed Abu Hasira, his father, Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira, his brothers, Mustafa Kamal Abu Hasira and Omar Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira, and sisters, Amal Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira and Israa Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira.

Zainab M. Abu Hassira remembered 31 “martyrs”, including her brother, Adnan Mansour Abu Hasira, several cousins, uncles and aunt-in-law, the mentioned above Houria Mohammed Abu Hasira, whom she called a “second mother”.

Facebook user Kamal Daud posted several photos showing members of the Abu Hasira family in various settings. “Everyone in the pictures was martyred except for Abdul Rahman Abu Hasira,” he wrote. Many of these pictures were seemingly taken at Kamal Rashad Abu Hasira’s wedding, where he is seen proudly posing in a tuxedo and bow tie. In one photo, Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira poses with his elegantly dressed sons, Mustafa Kamal Abu Hasira, Omar Mohammed Kamal Abu Hasira and Abdul Rahman Abu Hasira.

52-year-old Hajja Eva Hosni [Yousef] Abu Hasira was killed along with her 35-year-old daughter, Islam [Mahmoud Nimr] Abu Hasira. Children 11-year-old Amna Ahmed Abu Hasira, eight-year-old girl Sama [Muhammad Muhammad] Abu Hasira and her sister, 14-year-old Jana [Muhammad Muhammad] Abu Hasira were also among those killed.

29-year-old Adnan Mansour Abu Hasira, 33-year-old Hatem Hamza Abu Hasira, Ahmed Rashad Abu Hasira (Abu Khalid), Shahd Abu Hasira, 14-year-old girl named Misk al-Soussi, 35-year-old woman named Duaa Abu Hasira, and Sumaia Abu Hasira were also killed in the attack.

Hamza Abu Haseera honoured his son, Hatem Hamza Abu Hasira, by sharing a photo of Hatem wearing a brown shirt and gently smiling at the camera. “I will keep crying for you until I meet you in the highest paradise”, he wrote. The same photo was posted by Shadi al-Deeb, along with the heartfelt message “The eye sheds tears, the heart grieves and we are saddened by your departure, O Abu Hamza”. According to Muamar Abu Anas, Hatem Hamza was “devoted to his religion” and “sincere in his intentions”. His words were accompanied by a selfie of his friend in a black hoodie against a sunny sky.

Where possible, 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, and includes thousands of names. The additional middle names of the victims within parenthesis were also found from the Shireen monitor rather than local sources.

Some images taken in the aftermath of the alleged attack showed the damage inflicted upon the Abu Hasira family. Photos posted by Facebook user Loola Zahran showed a badly wounded person and a young, unconscious child being treated by paramedics inside an ambulance.

An Al Jazeera correspondent filmed a video from the place of the devastating strike, filming a crane that was clearing rubble and debris. He said the following:

“As you can see, an entire square was blown up with explosive barrels. Of course, it is known as Abu Hasira Square or Al-Shifa Square. The place hosts many displaced people, so 90% of the martyrs are women, children and elderly people. Dozens of houses were blown up and destroyed, with everyone inside. Each house hosts approximately five or six families, meaning approximately 50 people in each house. Ten buildings were targeted when we went out to see what happened. All the houses collapsed with everyone inside them. There are many martyrs, and until now, we are trying to get the martyrs out from under the ground. We pulled out approximately 20 martyrs from under the rubble, and a double that number is still under the rubble.”

Then the reporter talked to a crane driver, telling him that there are still people in this place under the rubble. After that, he interviewed  a member of the Civil Defense who said the following:

“Since early morning, the Civil Defense has been pulling out the martyrs and the wounded from under the rubble. As you know, the Civil Defense does not have any equipment or bulldozers, so they have been working with their hands since morning. Now we are trying to pull out some of the martyrs from under the completely destroyed houses. A completely destroyed residential neighborhood. No, we cannot rescue or pull out some of the martyrs from under the rubble.”

Footage aired by Al Jazeera on November 6th showed the Abu Hasira family’s house completely destroyed. A crane can be seen moving through the rubble, in the hope of finding survivors or retrieving the remaining victims’ bodies.

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 third ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on April 1, 2024.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.