At dawn on Tuesday, March 18th, 2025, a declared Israeli airstrike hit the home of the al-Hatta family in Gaza City. The strike killed at least eight civilians from the same family, including Ahmed Omar Abdullah al-Hatta, a senior government official, his wife Fatima, and their six children.

The Israeli Defense Forces declared the strike in a statement on their Telegram channel on March 18, 17:04. According to the statement, Ahmed [Omar] Abdullah [al-Hatta] served as Hamas’ Minister of Justice, which he allegedly “exploited for terrorist purposes.” The statement also said: “Over the past day (Tuesday), the IDF struck dozens of terror targets and terrorists throughout the Gaza Strip, including mid-level and senior-ranking terrorists in Hamas’ Political Bureau. The strikes were conducted to damage Hamas’ governmental and military capabilities, and to remove threats to the State of Israel and its citizens.”

According to the Facebook account affiliated with the Palestinian Ministry of Justice – Gaza, 44-year-old Ahmed Omar Abdullah al-Hatta, nicknamed Abu Omar, held the position of Deputy Minister of Justice (Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice) in Gaza, rather than the Minister, as reported by the IDF. Al-Hatta was appointed Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice in Gaza in December 2021, succeeding Counselor Mohammed Al-Nahhal.

In a Facebook post announcing Al-Hatta’s December 2021 appointment, the Palestinian Ministry of Justice – Gaza account wrote that “Al-Hatta previously held the position of Dean of the Rabat College for Palestinian Police and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Police Sciences from Mu’tah University in Jordan and a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from the Islamic University.”

Tributes from relatives, colleagues, and friends—including Dima Lababidi, Noor Lababidi, Manal El-Hatta, and other family members—described Al-Hatta as a public servant who had previously served as Dean of the Ribat Police College.

Alongside being an administrative official, Ahmed al-Hatta also referred to as ‘colonel’ by Ahmad Sarayah, Rima Abdelhadi Alqudah, and Jordanzad on Facebook. Aside from the IDF’s account, Airwars was unable to find sourcing suggesting that Al-Hatta had served in a militant capacity, with this reference more likely being connected to Al-Hatta’s association with policing bodies, like the Ribat Police College and Mu’tah University, as mentioned above.

Regarding Al-Hatta’s association with Mu’tah University, Ahmad Sarayah posted to Facebook to say that Al-Hatta was a student of the Military Wing at the College of Police Sciences at Mu’tah University in 2001. Mu’tah University is a public university located in Karak Governorate in Jordan. According to the University’s website, Mu’tah University was “founded in March 22, 1981 by royal decree to be a National institution of military and civilian higher education.” Additional reading shows that the University’s military program trains individuals hoping to be involved in all aspects of security, from militaries to police units. As Airwars has not been able to find sources referring to Al-Hatta serving in a militant capacity, coupled with the fact that Al-Hatta’s title in the Ministry of Justice was of a civilian nature, he has been recorded as a civilian. This will be updated should additional information come to light.

His wife, 40-year-old Fatima Zidane Ahmed al-Hatta (Al-Iyyan), and their children—20-year-old Yusra Ahmed Omar al-Hatta, a dentistry student; 19-year-old Omar Ahmed Omar al-Hatta, a computer engineering student; 15-year-old twins Hudahmed Omar al-Hatta and Hajar Ahmed Omar al-Hatta; and six-year-old twins Janan Ahmed Omar al-Hatta and Banan Ahmed Omar al-Hatta —were all killed in the strike. Social media tributes by relatives and acquaintances expressed profound sorrow and described the children as well-mannered, beloved, and full of promise. The post by Ahmad Sarayah stated, “With this bloody scene, we bid farewell to an entire family, whom we consider to be near God during these blessed nights.” He also provided background on the victims, highlighting their professions, ages, and familial ties.

Where possible, names of victims were cross-checked against fatality records released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH). Airwars’ researchers ascertained the ages of some victims using these lists, matching victims’ names from this incident to entries in the eighth and ninth MoH lists released on March 23, 2025 and June 23, 2025, respectively. Airwars prioritizes the first appearance of a name across these lists for consistency.

Airwars’ researchers also checked the victims’ names from this incident against Shireen’s Monitor, an organisation which has a list of “Martyrs of Palestine” from 2023 onward, and includes thousands of names. All of these names, apart from Banan and Janan, matched those reported by the eighth and ninth MoH lists. According to the MoH lists, Banan and Janan were six when their were killed. Shireen’s Monitor recorded their ages as four. Airwars has recorded the twins as six, in line with the MoH. This will be updated should additional information become available.

Al Jazeera and the Palestinian Ministry of Justice also confirmed the deaths. Al Jazeera reported that “Hamas announced the martyrdom of al-Hatta, along with several government leaders, as a result of the Israeli [military’s] bombing of the Gaza Strip in March 2025,” and noted that “sources indicated that al-Hatta was killed along with his wife, Fatima, and his children, Yusra, Omar, Huda[hmed], Hajar, Janan, and Banan.”

According to multiple sources, including the Gigaza Report and social media testimonies, the airstrike struck without warning. Dima Lababidi, mourning her cousin and his wife and daughters, described the event as “setting hearts ablaze.” At the same time, Noor Lababidi and Manal El-Hatta shared memories and praised the family’s character and contributions.

All open sources identifying a belligerent attributed responsibility to the Israeli military. The IDF confirmed the strike, but fell short of acknowledging civilian harm resulting from it. Therefore, Airwars graded strike status as “confirmed” and civilian harm status as “fair.”