On October 8, 2023, Israeli forces reportedly bombed the Shabat family home in Beit Hanoun, killing at least 18 civilians, including 13 children and three women, and trapping an unknown number of others under rubble. A nineteenth person was killed and has been recorded as a militant.
Two sources, Khalid Abdel Rahman alongside Mezan, reported the bombing on October 7 without indicating the time of the attack, while later on, the organisation Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP) claimed that the strike took place on October 8 at 3 am. Other sources reported that rescue efforts were ongoing that same day. Facebook user Tikrit Time alleged that the strike took place without warning.
Radio Alzaytonah and a number of Facebook users subsequently posted details pertaining to the people reportedly killed, listing them as Abdul Khaleq Muhammad Radwan Shabat (1 year old), Radwan Hassan Shabat (64 years old), Naima Jacir Shabat (65 years old), Ibrahim Radwan Shabat (30 years old) Asmaa Ali Shabat (35 years old), Diana Youssef Shabat (33 years old), Hassan Muhammad Shabat (9-12 years old), Layan Abdul Khaleq Shabat (13 years old), Bayan Abdul Qader Shabat (4-7 years old), Abdul Khaleq Khaled Shabat (4-5 years old), Gaith Khaled Shabat (2-3 years old), Muhammad Ibrahim Shabat (3-4 years old), Radwan Abdel Khaleq Shabat (8 years old), Sally Muhammad Radwan Shabat (3 years old), Sarah Muhammad Radwan Shabat (2 years old), Ali Muhammad Radwan Shabat (3 years old), and Muhammad Radwan Shabat (34-35 years old, a militant). The DCIP reported that two children in neighbouring houses were also killed: 11 to 13-year-old Mohammed Khater Maher al-Kafarneh and 16-year-old Rula Nael Zakaria Naseer.
Ibrahim Radwan Shabat was identified as the father of three year old Muhammad Ibrahim Shabat. Ibrahim was an employee at Big Market. Abdul Khaleq Khaled Shabat and Gaith Khaled Shabat were identified as siblings.
Reporting on this event, the Arabic-language news channel, Al Ghad TV, claimed, “Our correspondent from Gaza reported that Israeli warplanes bombed a house in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip and demolished it on top of its residents.” Regarding those impacted, the outlet stated “Our correspondent confirmed the fall of a number of [dead] as a result of the bombing that targeted a house belonging to the Shabat family, while attempts are currently being made to extract the living from under the rubble of the targeted house.”
In the days that followed this incident, photographs reportedly showing the funerals of those killed and a destroyed building were shared by Facebook users.
On November 17th, a Facebook post from Khalid Abdel Rahman reported that “Three-year-old Palestinian boy Ahmed Shabat, who survived three different Israeli air strikes, cries in pain at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital where he is receiving treatment in Deir al-Balah.” According to the post, Ahmed lost his parents and four of his siblings in the strike on October 7th, and was later injured while sheltering with his uncle in a school in Nuseirat.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
Where possible, names have been matched with the first Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.
This incident was updated January 16, 2025 with additional matches from the MoH list, the civilian harm toll was updated, and an additional source was added.