In the morning of Wednesday, 11 October 2023, at least 19 identified civilians, including at least 9 and up to 15 children, among them two infants, four siblings, and a mother with her four children, were killed and dozens were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike that hit the Ezbet Abd Rabbo area, including Al-Zawiya street, in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip. Most people killed were from the Al-Sawaleh (Al-Sawalha) family.

Numerous sources listed the names of those who were killed and put the death toll at 19 people. Some sources cited a range between 12 and 17 while noting the fact that these were preliminary figures and people were still being rescued from under the rubble and that therefore, the death toll was likely to increase.

Local sources cited “dozens” of civilians as injured without specifying a number.

Furthermore, posts by various eyewitnesses stated that: “Ezbet Abd Rabbo, east of Jabalia, is being subjected to very violent bombardment these moments” and another post stated that “most of the estate’s dwellings” were destroyed. A Facebook user Es Raa wrote: “Massacre in Ezba Abdiraba in Jabalya.. Families martyred and families trapped… And the bombing is still going on there!!!!”  Mahmoud Abd Rabbo Abu Hasanat stated “We appeal to all media outlets to provide first aid. There are martyrs and wounded everywhere,” while Lara Abedrabou alleged that ambulances were prevented from coming to the place of attack.

Social media tributes by relatives and friends helped to identify the names of 19 victims, among them at least 9 children – however, some ages of the victims are unknown. According to the post by Umm Yousef Abu Nijmeh, 15 children allegedly died in this attack.

The youngest child killed was an eight-month-old baby named Sham Mohammad Saleh Al-Sawaleh. He was amongst the four children of 33-year-old Maysaa Nafez Jamal Abd Rabbo (Al-Sawaleh) and her 22-year-old husband Muhammad Salah Saleh Al-Sawaleh who were also killed along with their mother Maysaa and father Muhammad. Sham was killed alongside his elder brother, an 11-year-old Karim Muhammad Saleh Al-Sawaleh, and his two sisters – Habiba Al-Sawaleh whose age is unknown and a 10-year-old Marah Ali Saleh Al-Sawaleh.

Mohammad Ahmad, a member of the Al-Sawaleh family, shared a message after losing many of his family members:

“A massacre committed against my family members. Martyrs fell in one moment. The scenes were beyond painful and the pain reached the peak. The real pain is losing a loved one (…) May my sister Umm Ismail and my sister Umm Ahmed be patient with you Mohammad, Sabreen, Lamis, Nasmah, Marah, Habiba, Shadi, Adi, Aminah, Sham.”

Among those he was referring to in the post were four siblings killed in the attack: a 10-year-old girl Nisma Salah Saleh Al-Sawaleh, a 12-year-old girl Lamis Salah Saleh Al-Sawaleh, a 19-year-old girl Sabreen Salah Saleh Al-Sawaleh, and a 22-year-old young man Muhammad Salah Saleh Al-Sawaleh.  Ahmad El Otul posted a message with a photo of Muhammad Salah Al-Sawaleh reading: “My brother give light to my eyes and support may God make it easy for you” after he was found in the rubble of the building.

Furthermore, another mother, Jihan Saber Mohammad Saleh Abd Rabbo, was killed alongside her three children – a 6-year-old son Shadi Jameel Mahmoud Saleh Al-Sawaleh, a son Adi Mahmoud Saleh Al-Sawaleh and a daughter Amna Mahmoud Saleh Al-Sawaleh.

Baraa Esmael posted a condolence message for her 19-year-old niece Samar Abdel Muti Saleh Abdel Rabbo who was among the victims of the attack too: “May God reward us with the greatest reward for the martyr, my niece Samar Abdel Muti Abd Rabbo.”

Finally, a 24-year-old mother Yasmine Fawzi Ibrahim Faraj along with her infant son Usam (Essam) Mohammed Faraj, Mahmoud Muhammad Abd Rabbo Saleh, Suhail Majed Abd Rabbo, and a 9-year-old girl Fatima Samih Faraj Abd Rabbo were victims of this strike.

The sources did not identify the belligerent, but the Airwars has matched the names of some of the civilians killed with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023, which explicitly mentions that names on the list are “victims of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip”. Therefore. this incident has been graded as a Single Source Claim, and civilian harm status as Fair.

The local time of the incident is unknown.