During the night or early morning of Tuesday, October 22nd 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the al-Naouq family home located in the center of the town of Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, killing 21 identified members of the al-Naouq family, including 14 children and three women, and up to 30 civilians, and wounding at least two civilians. According to the post by Ahmed al-Naouq, American fighter aircraft F16 was used to conduct this strike.
Ahmed al-Naouq, a media officer at the Palestinian Mission in the UK and a graduate student in London, lost around 30 family members in this incident according to his Twitter/X post that gained more than 6 million views. Airwars identified 21 members of his family killed based on Ahmed’s social media posts, including his 14 nephews and nieces. Condolence messages were offered to Ahmed on social media by his colleagues from the Mission, including the Ambassador Husam Zomlot, Rana Abu Ayyash, and Rami Abdu.
In his interview to Associated Press, Ahmed recalled that that night when a blast struck his family’s home while he was in London, more than 2,000 miles away. He told AP that he left a question in his family’s WhatsApp group, “Tell me, how are you guys?”. He then heard from a friend: “Airstrike. Everyone killed.”
Ahmed told AP in a moving testimony: “I can’t believe this actually happened. Because if I calculate what it means, I will be destroyed.”
On November 15th 2023, Ahmed al-Naouq went to the British Parliament to talk to MPs about the incident in which Israel had killed his family. He asked them to vote for a ceasefire “to end the suffering of his people.”
In comments to AP, Ahmed asked: “Why would they kill children and an old man? What is the military justification for bombing my house? They were all civilians. I wish, one day, I can meet the one who pulled the trigger. I want to ask him: Why did you do it?”
Ahmed al-Naouq also recorded a voice tribute to his 14 nieces and nephews shared on BBC sounds under the title, “All I have now are memories”.
Among the victims of the strike was Ahmed’s 75-year old father, Nasri Salem al-Naouq, his two brothers and three sisters with their fourteen children.
Ahmed’s 36-year-old sister Walaa Nasri Salem al-Naouq was killed alongside her four children – two sons Raghad Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza (13) and Abdullah Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza (6) and two daughters Islam Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza (12) and Sarah Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza (9). The Associated Press report described the late Walaa Nasri Salem al-Naouq as “the most accomplished of the al-Naouq children with a degree in engineering.” Ahmed shared his picture with Abdullah and Sarah, adding that “this is Abdullah, when he was a bit younger. To the right is his sister Sarah. She was also killed. Sarah was born during the 2014 war. She endured the blockade and a number of wars since her birth.”
His 35-year-old sister Alaa Nasri Salem al-Naouq (Salman) was killed along with her five children – daughters Dima Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman (12), Tala Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman (8), Nesma Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman (2), Islam Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman (13), and a son, Nour El-Din Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman (4). A Facebook user Waseem Salman Abu Ahmed wrote in his tribute that the deceased Alaa was his uncle’s wife and shared numerous images of her smiling small children.
Ahmed’s 33-year old sister Aya Nasri Salem al-Naouq lost her life together with the lives of her three children, sons Mohammed Bashir (12), and Tamin Bashir (6), and daughter Malak Bashir (aged 11 or 12). Malak initially survived the incident and was taken to al-Aqsa hospital with severe burns, but died “after doctors gave her ICU bed to another patient with a better chance of survival.” From a Twitter/X post from Ahmed al-Naouq on October 29th, it appears Malak died nearly a week after the initial strike.
Aya was known for her “wry sense of humour.” According to the AP article, Aya’s home had been previously destroyed and she was staying with the others elsewhere in the central city of Deir al-Balah, south of the area Israel had ordered Palestinians to leave.
Ahmed’s 35-year old brother Muhammad Nasri Salem al-Naouq was killed alongside his son Bakr Muhammad Nasri al-Naouq (11) and a daughter Basemah Muhammad Nasri al-Naouq (9). Ahmed shared an image of the dead body of Bakr, writing that “This is my brother’s firstborn. He was 11 years old.”
Ahmed’s 25-year old brother Mahmoud Nasri Salem al-Naouq was also killed in this incident. Mahmoud al-Naouq worked at a human rights organisation and was preparing to travel to Australia for graduate studies when the war broke out. He was described by his former classmate, a Twitter/X user @Salahdeen Aziz Mattar, as “one of the best young men”. Similarly, Twitter/X user @Anas Mohammed Jnena described Mahmoud as “the loveliest spirit and the most kind and calm person one could ever meet.” In his Facebook post, he further reminisced how Mahmoud had told him how excited he was to pursue his master’s abroad and then get back home and get married. His brother Ahmed shared his image of a smiling young man in glasses.
Among the victims was also Ahmed’s cousin, a 34-year old Ali Hisham Said Al-Quraynaawi, a PhD holder and a lecturer at a university in Gaza. Ahmed wrote in his Twitter/X account that he was killed in Ahmed’s family home and attached an image of a tall young man in a suit.
Initially believed to have been a casualty, Aya’s son, Omar Bashir (3), was later discovered to be alive but injured. Described as “the little angel,” Omar was the sole child who survived the bombing. Ahmed wrote that “Omar is still living under bombardment. Omar is not safe.”
A relative and neighbour of the affected family Ali Al-Naouq detailed his injuries, stating he “suffered a fracture in his left hand along with other injuries” when the al-Naouq house next to his own was bombed, resulting in significant damage to his residence. Additionally, an Associated Press report identified Ahmed al-Naouq’s sister-in-law, Shimaa, as a survivor of the incident, but it is not clear whether she was injured or not.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
Where possible, Airwars has matched names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.
Due to the scale and urgency of Airwars’ assessment process, all images have been automatically uploaded to each assessment with the graphic filter applied to protect users. We have also included all images identified from the sources, which may also include any imagery of combatants.
The incident occured during the night.
