In the late evening of August 1st, 2024, an Israeli airstrike/drone strike allegedly struck the al-Agha family home on al-Badaw street in the Al-Satar Al-Gharbi area killing at least one civilian and injuring another.
69-year-old Rajha Yahya Isaeed al-Agha was killed in the strike, while her husband Mazid Hamdi Mallahi al-Agha, was hit in the head by shrapnel from a missile. Mazid reportedly survived the airstrike and was discharged from the hospital after receiving initial treatment.
Sources naming belligerents all point at Israeli forces for having launched the alleged airstrike. Some family members such as Belal Asaad al-Agha claimed that the airstrike was launched by an F16 aircraft while a post from the al-Agha family Facebook page attributed the incident to a drone strike.
The al-Agha family was heartbroken over the loss of their aunt and cousin, Rajha (Umm Hamid/Ahmad). Cousin D. Saleh al-Agha tweeted: “May God have mercy on the martyr and place her in spacious gardens. Condolences extend to her honourable family and a speedy recovery to her husband, cousin Mazyad Hamdi Al-Agha” and Om Osama shared, “I and my children wish we were in your place”.
Surrounded by loved ones, Rajha was carried by her family in the Austrian neighbourhood family cemetery, west of Khan Yunis. The al-Agha family account shared in a tweet that the passing of Rahja amounted the number of deceased in the family to 127, including 34 children and 26 women.
The great majority of sources reported that apart from Rahja, only Mazid was injured in the airstrike. SAFA news, however, along with a tweet from @Abomalekalasta2 that quoted the Palestinian Civil Defense, reported that in addition to the death of Rajha, “others” were injured.
Rajha was matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023, the MoH has released six lists, along with an additional list of medical professionals, which was released on September 15, 2024. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, Rajha was matched to the sixth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on September 15, 2024.