On the 4th of November 2023, an alleged Israeli bombing reportedly struck the city of Al-Zahraa, southwest of Gaza City, resulting in the deaths of five civilians, including a woman and three children, all from the Al-Hato family. The sources did not report any injuries.

Testimonies from friends and family poured into social media on November 4th, helping to identify the date of the incident and the civilians killed as 38-year-old Misbah Samir Misbah Al-Hato, his 28-year-old wife, Duaa Mahmoud Hassan Al-Hato, their daughter, five-year-old Aisha Misbah Samir Al-Hato, and their sons, 10-year-old Mahmoud Mesbah Samir Al-Hato and 12-year-old Mohammed Misbah Samir Al-Hato.

One tribute by user @zahara city on Facebook shared a collage of photos, including an image of Misbah Al-Hato at a desk in a white T-shirt and navy blue puffer vest. Another photo in the collage shows his three children holding hands, with their younger sister in the middle wearing a pink top, all smiling at the camera. Another image in the collage shows the younger sister wearing a cap and gown adorned with Palestinian colours in a graduation-inspired photograph, holding a certificate and smiling at the camera. This collage was shared with a caption calling Misbah a “well-mannered, polite young man,” expressing sadness at his and his family’s deaths and hoping that “their souls rest in peace, and may their loved ones have patience and solace.”

Another social media testimony from Facebook by a close friend of the family, Mohammed Alamour, stated that their home was hit during the reported attack, sharing additional photos of the family. One of the photos shows Misbah Samir Al-Hato with his sons, Mahmoud and Mohammed, taking a selfie together. Misbah is wearing a striped T-shirt while they all look at the camera.

Another user, Is Lam Fares, shared more photos of Misbah, this time standing in dark navy jeans, a grey t-shirt, and a black zip-up hoodie while leaning on a silver car. He asked God to “have mercy on you, your children, and your wife.”

Testimonies poured in, sharing these photos and expressing sadness and grief over the family’s passing. One testimony from Bilal Hato on social media stated that Misbah was her cousin, saying, “By God, the heart can no longer bear the separation from loved ones.”

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.

Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023, the MoH has released six 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, names were matched to the second  “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on January 7, 2024, and to the fifth list released on July 24, 2024.

The local time of the incident is unknown.