(Previous Incident Code: ISPT006)

Four members of one family, including two children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza’s Al Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, according to multiple sources.

The airstrike killed 16-year-old Lina Iyad Fathi Sharir, alongside her mother and father, Layali Taha Sharir and Iyad Fathi Fayeq Sharir. Her sister, two-year-old Mina Iyad Sharir, was taken to hospital but died from the injuries she sustained in the blast on May 11th, 2021.

The Israeli Defence Forces confirmed the airstrike in a tweet. They identified Iyad Fathi Fayeq Sharir as the head of Hamas anti-tank missile unit in Gaza, in charge of carrying out anti-tank missile attacks on Israel. They did not mention any further casualties.

Ma’an News also shared an undated image of Iyad Fathi Fayeq Sharir in military fatigues.

Two missiles were fired at the two-story house where the family lived at around 4.30pm, according to Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights. @ISLAMHABIB6 reported that a son who was having a private lesson outside the house survived. Israel Palestine Timeline reported that there were 25 injuries as a result of the  airstrike as it took place in a densely populated area.

Lina Iyad Fathi Sharir was reportedly a 10th Grader at al-Majida Wasila Ben A’mmar Secondary School for Girls in West Gaza. The Norweigian Refugee Council confirmed that she had been participating in its psycho-social programme aimed at helping children deal with trauma.

Daily Sabah reported that Layali Abu al-Khair, which appears to be the previous family name of Layali Taha Sharir, was a biology graduate and the mother of seven children. According to that source three of her children died.

A few hours after the strike, two social media sources posted that Iyad Fathi Fayeq Sharir and five sons died in the airstrike. More detailed reporting that followed however indicated that he had died alongside his wife and two children.