On October 10th, 2023 at dawn, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the Al-Qara family’s house in the town of Bani Suhayla in eastern Khan Yunis in the Gaza strip, killing three civilian members of the Al-Qara family, and two individuals identified as militants.
The civilians were identified as Waad Ashraf Ismail Al-Qara (18 years old), her sister Iman Ashraf Ismail Al-Qara and her three week old son Saif Abu Hagras. Another member of the family, eight year old Menna reportedly sustained injuries from the bombing, and was said to be the sole survivor of the strike.
Ashraf Ismail Jabr Al-Qara “Abu Muhannad” (53 years old) and Mohamed Ashraf Ismail Al-Qara (23 years old) were also reportedly killed in the strike. Ashraf was referred by one source, Majed Al Masri, as a “Commander” (القائد ), but no other open sources were found to suggest that he was a militant. Additionally, no sources were found to indicate that Mohamed Ashraf was a militant.
As such, given that the term ‘Al-Qa’ed’ (القائد) is also often used to refer to family ‘leaders’, Airwars initially recorded Ashraf as a civilian. This decision was in line with Airwars’ methodology which is employed across all conflicts we document, and informed by international standards regarding the ‘presumption of civilian status‘. Specifically, as outlined by the International Committee of the Red Cross, civilian status is assumed until evidence is identified to the contrary.
However, on February 26, 2026, the official page representing Saraya al-Quds, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), published a list and photos of PIJ commanders who had been killed over the course of the preceding months. Ashraf was named as a “Signal Corps Commander – Khan Younis Brigade” and a photo of him was attached. As such, his status has been updated to militant.
On September 11, 2026, the same account posted a tribute to Mohamed Ashraf, naming him as a fighter. As such, his status was updated from civilian to militant.
All of the sources alleged that Israeli aircraft were responsible for the strike, and the Al Qara family reported that it was carried out at dawn, without warning.
Waad Ashraf Ismail Al-Qara was preparing for her wedding which was planned for a few days later, as reported by the journalist Tareq Abu Ishak and the Palestine Live Now Facebook account. Esmaeel Omer reported that injured children were transported to Nasser Hospital, and Twitter/X accounts @PalinfoAr amd @SafaPs report there were several injuries as a result of the strike, but journalist Tareq Abu Ishak and the Palestine Live Now Facebook account both report that only one person, eight year old Menna, survived the strike on the Al Qara house. Earlier reports say there were between two to three deaths and multiple people injured, but later reports, including those from the Al-Qara family, report that five people were killed by the strike. Ashraf Ismail Jabr Al-Qara “Abu Muhannad”’s cousin Rami Abdulkarim, and uncle Majed Al Masri, mourned the loss of their family in Facebook posts.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the first, second, and fifth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.