On October 12th 2023 it was reported that at least two civilians were killed and two others were injured at the Aslih family home in Ma’an in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza strip. The bombardment was allegedly a result of Israeli aircrafts according to multiple sources. A third individual was reportedly killed and has been identified as a militant.
Osama Fathi posted that his uncle Salah Khalil Aslih (Abu Ayman) (74 years old) and his uncle’s son Muhammed Salah Aslih (Abu Osama) (35 years old) were martyred in the airstrike. Salah’s son and Muhammed’s brother Diaa kamerl posted a memorial to his family members.
A Facebook post from Ahmad Al Brim also added that the young man, Adam Jamal Abu Al-Naja (31, a militant), was killed in a strike near the Islamic University in Ma’an. The Al Ghalban family union posted a condolence message to Adam Jamal Abu Al-Naja.
When Airwars first published this incident on December 1, 2023, no open sources were found to suggest that Adam Jamal Abu Al-Naja 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 July 13, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)’s armed wing, published a tribute to Adam Al-Naja, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Adam’s status from civilian to militant, and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from three to two.
Alkoufza News reported that two people were killed and two were injured while Shehab Agency reported that the number of deaths had risen to four. A tweet from @pslk1145 added that the dead and injured arrived at Nasser Hospital.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
All three victim names were found among the list of names published by the Palestinian Ministry of Health on October 26th, 2023.