Shortly before 3 PM on February 29th, 2024, an alleged Israeli artillery strike hit the al-Bashiti family as they sheltered in their tent in the Mawasi refugee camp, west of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, killing at least three members of the family, including two children, and injuring at least three others.

Some sources, including Shehab Agency, indicated that the death toll was four, though the identity of the fourth victim is unknown.

Shehab Agency first reported the incident at 2:59 PM, writing that four people were killed as a result of an alleged Israeli artillery strike. Twitter/X user @Bawabatqalqilia also reported three injuries resulting from the attack.

Social media sources and tributes from relatives and friends helped to identify the victims’ names.

The bombing killed (Ata) Ayman Muhammad Hassan al-Bashiti (reportedly 33 or 44 years of age) alongside his 10-year-old son Sajid (Sajad) Ayman Muhammad al-Bashiti. The deadly attack also killed five-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud al-Bashiti and injured his father, Professor Mohammed al-Bashiti. It also injured two brothers Mohammed al-Bashiti and Sand al-Bashiti, cousins of Sajid Ayman al-Bashiti and Mahmoud al-Bashiti. According to Dr. Mohammed al-Bashiti, the father of Mahmoud al-Bashiti, Mohammed al-Bashiti and Sand al-Bashiti incurred “severe injuries”. In early December of 2023, the Israeli military declared Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis, to be a “safe zone”.

The strike hit the al-Bashiti family as they were sheltering in a camp for displaced people in the Mawasi refugee camp, west of Khan Yunis. According to Twitter user @Hamzaalnmala1, after the bombing, Sajid Ayman al-Bashiti and four people injured in separate incidents in Khan Yunis were transferred to Al Najjar Hospital in Rafah. Dr. Mohammed al-Bashiti wrote that the al-Bashiti family had been forced to move to Mawasi after their home had been destroyed in previous bombardments.

According to the majority of sources, including Shehab News, Twitter/X user @refugeesps, a post by Mohamed Awad in the Gaza News Facebook group, and Twitter user @Hamzaalnamla1, Ata Ayman al-Bashiti was 33 years old, Sajid Ayman al-Bashiti was six years old, and Mahmoud al-Bashiti was five years old. However, Dr. Mohammed al-Bashiti, the boy’s uncle, reported that Sajid was 10 years old.

The Al Bashiti posted many tributes and obituaries to their deceased family members. Dr. Mohammed al-Bashiti wrote, “With the highest verses of patience and reward, and faith in Allah’s will and destiny, I deposit pieces of my heart from the effects of cluster bombs that hit my home to which I fled/ Forced to death in Mawasi, Khan Yunis. My eldest son and the apple of my eye, the bird of paradise, the martyr Mahmoud Al-Bashiti, five years old/ My sister’s husband and my brother whom my mother did not give birth to, the martyr Ayman Al-Bashiti “Abu Sajid”/ My nephew who is like my son, the bird of paradise, the martyr Sajid Al-Bashiti, ten years old/ And the injury of my support, my father, Professor Mahmoud Al-Bashiti/ And the injury of my sister’s sons, Muhammad and Sand, with severe injuries. Our affliction is great and grave, and the mountains cannot bear it, but we say only what pleases our Lord. The eye sheds tears, the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your separation.”

Abu Mahmoud al-Bashiti mourned the loss of his nephew, Ayman al-Bashiti, and his grand-nephew, Sajid al-Bashiti, writing “We consider you among the martyrs and the righteous with God, and good are those companions. To God belongs the matter before and after, may God have mercy on them and grant them a home better than his home. We ask God for complete safety for all members of his family.” He included a photo of Sajid’s body wrapped in a white shroud, and a photo of Ayman, smiling in a white trench coat. He was a middle-aged man with black hair and dark eyes and a thick beard.

Anwar al-Bashiti, a cousin of Ayman al-Bashiti, posted the same photos along with one of 10-year old Sajid in a yellow sweater posing with what a gun (possibly a toy). As there was no indication that the family were connected to any armed group, this has not been deemed sufficient by Airwars researchers to assign any family members as militants; this categorisation will be updated should further information come to light.

Salman al-Bashiti al-Shaer posted a photo of Ayman al-Bashiti’s face in profile as he sits in a garden, and a photo of a young child, who may be Sajid al-Bashiti or Mahmoud al-Bashiti, in a living room and dressed up in a hat and thobe. Esmail al-Bashiti, Ahmed al-Bashiti, and Shorouq al-Shaer, cousins of Ayman al-Bashiti, all posted prayers to their Facebook pages, expressing their faith and hoping their family members would enter paradise. Reem al-Barqi Umm al-Mujada gave her condolences to her “dear friend Noura Al-Bashiti for the martyrdom of her brother Ayman and his son Sajid. May God reward you, my dear Noura, and may God heal your wounds.”

When sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces, including Al Jazeera and Shehab News.

Where possible, the names of the victims have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. In regard to this incident, the names of the victims were matched to the third ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on April 1st, 2024. In this list, the age of Ayman was indicated as 44, of Sajid as 10, and of Mahmoud as 5.

The incident occured at approximately 2:30 pm local time.