Shortly before 2:41 AM on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, a declared Israeli airstrike struck the home of Hamas’s deputy interior minister, 57-year-old Major General Mahmoud Abu Watfa, killing him and at least nine of his family members, including three women, one of whom was pregnant, and five children, and injuring a number of family members. The Abu Watfa family home, which was located in the Shatni area in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, north of Gaza City, caught on fire.

At 2:41 AM, the Palestinian Press Agency (Safa) initially reported that there were “martyrs” and “wounded” as a result of the attack, though it did not provide a specific count of those killed. Twitter/X account @Sa7atPlBreaking also reported injuries.

The IDF, through their official Telegram and X/Twitter accounts, confirmed that “dozens of terrorist targets” were struck on March 18, resulting in the death of “numerous” members of Hamas’ political bureau, including Mahmoud Abu Watfa. In particular, the IDF statement classified Mahmoud Abu Watfa as a “senior terrorist”, writing “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.”

The post went on to say “Mahmoud Marzouk Ahmed Abu-Watfa – served as Minister of Internal Affairs and was in charge of Hamas’ Internal Security Forces, which were used for terrorist purposes.”

Hamas confirmed the death of Abu Wafta, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior and National Security, along with those of several other Hamas leaders.

According to the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), the Internal Security Force (ISF) is the intelligence organisation of the Hamas government, operating under the Ministry of Interior. It comprises members of the al-Majd internal security force within the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), and is responsible for espionage and informants. Since the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) are considered the military wing of Hamas, and also taking into account Abu Wafta’s military rank as Major General, Airwars researchers have recorded him as a militant.

Mahmoud Marzouq Ahmed Abu Watfa (Abu Yasser) was killed along with his 53-year-old wife, Manal Musa Abu Watfa (Abu Hussein) and their eight children – their four sons, 25-year-old Mohammed Mahmoud Marzouq Abu Watfa, 20-year-old Ahmed Yassin Mahmoud Marzouq Abu Watfa, and a child Zein Mahmoud Abu Watfa; and their four daughters, 19-year-old Shahd Mahmoud Marzouq Abu Watfa, 17-year-old Hala Mahmoud Marzouq Abu Watfa, 12-year-old Elin Mahmoud Marzouq Abu Watfa, and 23-year-old Aya Mahmoud Marzouq Abu Watfa who was pregnant at the time of the strike. Aya was killed alongside her son, Hamada, who was a child.

Mourning messages by relatives and friends of the Abu Watfa family quickly appeared on Facebook.

One of Mahmoud Abu Watfa and Manal Abu Hussein’s sons, Israa Mahmoud Abu Watfa, wrote a message to his family.  “Dad”, he wrote, “you are our pride, my support in this world”. Israa continued, describing his mom as his “twin”, “the mother of the compassionate heart, the mother of everyone”. “You have lived your life patient, content, and embracing everyone, Mom,” he added.

Israa dedicated messages to his brothers and sisters. “Mohammed, his soul is like my soul”, he wrote about his “generous” and “compassionate” brother, Mohammed Mahmoud Abu Watfa. “Who will come to me alone at night from the markets to Gaza?”. He went on to remember Ahmed Yassin Mahmoud Abu Watfa, “who grew up to be a wonderful, brave, kind and generous young man”.

Yasser also mourned the death of his sisters. He first wrote of his 23-year-old sister Aya, who was killed with her son Mohammed and her unborn child. Aya was a widow who had lost her husband, Dinal, earlier. Yasser wrote, “My dear, you were missing your husband Nidal so much, may God have mercy on him, and you wanted to get back together, and may God reunite you with Hamada and your little bird whom we have not seen.”

Further on, he mourned the loss of Hala, whom he called “our doctor, my dear, my compassionate one, you are the one who most prays to be martyred,” and Shahd, whom he called “his moon.”

The post included several images of his family. His mother, Manal Abu Hussein, wearing a black hijab and dress, smiles at the camera with her son, Salah Al-Din Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who was killed in October 2023, and her daughters, Shahd Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who is wearing a black hijab and a brown and black dress, and Aya Mahmoud Abu Watfa, in a blue hijab with white dots.

In another photo, young Mohammed Mahmoud Abu Watfa is seen sitting on a bench with trees behind him, wearing a blue polo shirt with the letters HBI. In a similar picture, Ahmed Yassin Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who is wearing a black t-shirt and blue pants, smiles enthusiastically.

Zein Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who appears to be a teenager, is wearing a grey t-shirt and grey pants. He poses with his 17-year-old sister Hala Mahmoud Abu Watfa, wearing a beige hijab and a navy blue dress on a sunny day at the beach.

In a different image, Mahmoud Abu Watfa is seen with his 12-year-old sister Elin Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who is wearing a pink shirt.

Somaya Abu Hussein mourned the death of her sister, Manal Abu Hussein, and her children. She considered Mohammed Mahmoud Abu Watfa, “the joy of my heart”, to be a son, not a nephew. “I have never seen you make a mistake or do the slightest bad thing,” she wrote tenderly about Ahmed Yassin Mahmoud Abu Watfa. She also described Shahd Mahmoud Abu Watfa as someone who always ranked first in school and had been called “the doctor” since first grade.

Somaya also dedicated words to Aya Mahmoud Abu Watfa, expressing her hope that she and her son Hamadeh could “join” her late husband, Nidal. The post included several photos of the victims, including a collage featuring Aya Mahmoud, wearing a black hijab and a brown dress, and her son Hamadeh, who appears to be under five years old and is dressed in a black, long-sleeved T-shirt.

User Heba M. Al-Balawi also mourned the Abu Watfa family in a touching and emotional Facebook tribute.

“Whenever you were bored, you would come and say let’s go to the beach or let’s go out to sit and stay up late and play truth or dare and laugh until we get embarrassed”, she wrote about her friend Shahd, a 19-year-old daughter of Mahmoud. She added that Shahd loved life and had dreams and wanted to travel to Türkiye, and two days ago, they talked to each other, and Shahd was preparing for the exams. Heba wrote that she sent a message to Shahd at  2:10, which was the last time she appeared online, but she didn’t reply.

She described Mahmoud’s other daughter, Hala, as someone she had trusted with “everything” from the first time they spoke, and mentioned their plans to memorise the Quran together.

She also recalled how Mahmoud’s son Zein would eat the corn with honey she prepared, always telling her it was delicious, even when it wasn’t.

Heba Al-Balawi also recalled 12-year-old Elin and described her as a “little girl” who would argue with her sister Shahd, then bring her chocolate as a peace offering. She also portrayed the family mother, Manal, as a “caring, patient, and steadfast mother.”

User Mohammad Fahmi lamented the loss of his “best friend” and “beloved companion”, Mohammed Mahmoud Abu Watfa, and wished peace upon “the one who was light hearted and never harmed anyone”. His post contained several photos of Mohammed Mahmoud, who graduated from Law school in 2023, with his friends and fellow students.

A night time image of a large fire, reportedly showing the site of the attack, also circulated on social media.

Although the Israeli military confirmed the strike and killing of Mahmoud Abu Watfa, it did not acknowledge the civilian harm resulting from the strike, in particular, the death of his ten family members. Therefore, Airwars has graded the strike status of the incident as “declared” and the civilian harm status as “fair.”

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, which was released on March 24, 2025.

Looking at the MoH lists, a 13-year-old boy, Abdul Aziz Mahmoud Marzouq Abu Watfa was included on lists eight and later nine – the same lists that Mohammed Mahmoud, Ahmed, Elin, and Aya were matched to. Though sources did not mention Abdul Aziz by name, it seems plausible that he may have also been killed in the strike alongside his family members. As such, his death has been included in the upper range of fatalities associated with this incident.