During the evening of Wednesday, October 11, 2023, six civilians belonging to two different families, including six children and one woman, were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Zanoun and al-Ajez family houses located in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. A Watan correspondent reported that three residential apartments in the Carmel Tower, adjacent to Al-Shifa Hospital, west of Gaza City, were also attacked and seriously damaged. Three individuals identified as militants were also reportedly killed.

According to the heartfelt Facebook testimony by Jihad Zanoun, his 36-year old cousin Adel Musa Zanoun (a militant) was reportedly killed together with his five children – a fifteen-year old daughter Hana Adel Zanoun, a sixteen-year old daughter Shaza (Shatha) Adel Zanoun, a 13-year old son Mahmoud Adel Zanoun, a 1-year old son Yassin Adel Zanoun, and a 10-year old daughter Sajaa Adel Zanoun. The late Adel Musa Zanoun is portrayed smiling in the drivers seat of a car or a bus. Jihad added that this is already the second massacre in the Zanoun family.

The Zanoun family also mourned the death of Adel Musa and his sons in a Facebook post, wishing “glory and eternity to our righteous martyrs, and may God have mercy on them and make them dwell in His spacious paradise”. Adel’s brother, called Țặĥặ Țặĥặ on Facebook, and his cousin Shadi Zanon also grieved the death of Adel and his sons, having posted a picture of six bodies wrapped in one cloth, five of which are small enough to be children. Abdullah Attar shared pictures of the funeral prayer for the deceased members of the Zanoun family, which took place at Al-Najjar Hospital.

As a result of the airstrike on the al-Ajez family house, 48-year old Suzan Yahya Ibrahim Al-Ajez (al-Ajwzi), wife of Abu Uday Al-Ajez, was killed together with her two sons, 21-year old Yahya Emad Hassan Al-Ajez and 17-year old Abdullah Imad Hassan Al-Ajez (a militant)

Family and friends of the victims mourned their deaths. Suhaib Khaleb, a relative of the al-Ajez family, wrote on Facebook: “With hearts that believe in God’s will and destiny, three of the moons and martyrs of my family, the cousins, bleed to heaven”, posting pictures of the young and smiling Yahya and Abdullah. The same source referred to Yahya as “mujahid”, indicating that he may have been a militant. As a result, Yahya has been recorded as a civilian and excluded from the civilian harm count.

On May 11, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)'s armed wing published a tribute to Yahya Emad Hassan Al-Ajez, confirming his militant status.

When Airwars first published this incident, no open sources were found to suggest that Abdullah Imad Hassan Al-Ajez was a militant. As such, he was recorded as a civilian. This 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.

On August 5, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Hamas' armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a tribute to Abdullah Imad Hassan Al-Ajez, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Abdullah Imad Hassan Al-Ajez's status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident accordingly.

Additionally, this incident was initially published without a post from Abd Abd al-Karim Zannoun, in which Adel Musa Zanoun is referred to as a "vanguard of jihad and stone thrower of the Jews." As the sentence invokes militant activity, he has been recorded as a militant. This will be updated should additional information become available.

Abu Alabed, Abdullah Emad, Ibrahim Zurb and Ahmad ALjez also expressed their grief about the loss of Al-Ajez family members, posting pictures of the deceased Yahya and Abdullah.

Where possible, names 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. Multiple sources also reported that the strike happened without warning.