On Monday, October 9th 2023, 18 civilians, all members of the Abu Obaid family, including at least seven children and seven women, were reported killed by an alleged Israeli airstrike on their home in the Bir al-Naja area west of the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip. Two combatants were also reported killed, also members of the Abu Obaid family.
Initial reportage from the Jordan News Agency and Shehab Agency reported the death of two women and a girl, whose bodies were received at the Indonesian Hospital, while adding that “others were injured.” Defence for Children International noted that the bombing was without warning, and reported the death of seven civilians, including three children – Ismail Mohammad Ismail Salah (7) and his cousins Malak Mohammad Nasser Abu Obaid (15 or 16), and Karam Yousef Nasser Abu Obaid (17 or 18), further stating that the neighbors said “there were approximately 15 to 20 people inside the building, including some who were seeking refuge.” A possible neighbor of the family posted on social media that “the martyrs were more than 10”, and other sources including Refugee SPS and WAFA News mentioned “a number of” casualties”, the latter stating the victims’ house was “behind the communications headquarters west of the city.”
Posts by the family’s relatives on twitter, revealed the names of 18 civilians killed in the incident: Muhammad Youssef Abu Obaid (20), Karam Youssef Abu Obaid (17 or 18), Hamza Rami Abu Obaid (20), his mother Sanaa Abu Obaid (46), Nasr Rami Abu Obaid (19), Moatasem Rami Abu Obaid (16), Hajja Fatima Abu Obaid Umm Rami (72), Safaa Nasr Abu Obaid, Islam Abu Obaid (22 years old), Malak Muhammad Nasser Abu Obaid (15 or 16), Fatima Rami Abu Obaid (22), Asmaa Rami Abu Obaid, Hanan Abu Obaid (Umm Najd) and her five children: Hassan, Ismail (7), Salah, and Najd – the fifth child was not named.
Along with the civilians killed, the Abo Obaid family Facebook page referred to two people killed as “mujahid”, understood by Airwars to indicate militant status: Nasr Youssef Abu Obaid Abu Rami (different to 19-year-old Nasr Rami Abu Obaid according to local sources) and Youssef Nasr Abu Obaid Abu Muhammad.
Relatives of the family mourned the loss on online platforms, sharing posts such as “As we, the Abu Obaid clan in the homeland and the diaspora, mourn with all pride, and majesty a constellation of martyrs of the Abu Obaid family and all the martyrs in Gaza”, and “A massacre against my family/Abu Obaid family in Bir al-Naja/There is no power but from God”. Others on social media also grieved the deaths, alleging that the entire family had been killed, with one source sharing “an entire family was erased from the civil registry due to the Abu Obaid massacre”.
Where possible, names of civilians have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
The incident occurred at approximately 6:45pm local time.