Shortly after midnight on Thursday, 12th of October, 2023, at least 25 identified civilians belonging to three different families, at least twelve of whom were children and six of whom women, were killed and a large number of civilians were reportedly wounded in an alleged airstrike by the Israeli military on a four-story residential building belonging to the Abu Madin family in Block 9 of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza strip. Local sources reported that the building contained 12 residential apartments and housed approximately 70 people, including displaced people from the border areas. A University professor was also among those killed. A 26th person was killed and his status has been recorded as contested.
The number of casualties was initially reported at 17 but rose to 26 with news sources such as Jo24.net reporting that many were trapped under the rubble. Adham Abu Selmia (@adham922) shared an emotional video on the Twitter/X social media platform showing the immediate aftermath of the tragedy and people looking for survivors under the rubble at night. Huda Naim (@HuDa_NaIm92) shared another video on Twitter/X showing young men attempting to rescue a screaming child trapped under the rubble.
The injured civilians were transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the neighboring city of Deir al-Balah. Wafa.ps reported that the morgues in Al-Aqsa Hospital were “filled with bodies from the attack”, with tents being set up outside for the increasing casualties. The list of casualties has been compiled from various social media posts, obituaries, and news agencies.
The biggest losses suffered were the Al-Nabahin family. A relative of the family, Ahmad Al-Nabahin, mentioned in a Facebook post 17 names of the members of the Al-Nabahin and Abu Madin families who were killed, sharing some of their pictures.
Another family member, Hadi Khalid, mourned in her Facebook testimony the death of the 20 members of the Al-Nabahin family, including, in particular, her 56-year-old father Khaled Muhammad Al-Nabahin, her sister and Khaled’s daughter, a 28-year-old Dalia Khaled Muhammad Al-Nabahin, the wife of her uncle Musa, a 62-year-old Intisar Abdel Latif Mohamed Al-Nabahin Abd al-Jawad with her sons, Hadi Khalid’s cousins – a 31-year-old Yousef Musa Al-Nabahin, a 27-year-old Bassem Saeed Al-Nabahin and a 36-year-old Muhammad Musa Al-Nabahin. The images of Bassem and Yousef can be seen in the Facebook post by Ahed Alkhaldi.
Bassem Saeed was among the victims of the deadly strike. He was reported to be a basketball player for the Khadamat al-Bureji team. His death was mourned in an obituary by the Palestinian Basketball Federation where he was pictured in a basketball shirt with the number 5. The Palestine Olympic Committee also dedicated a Facebook post to the deceased sportsman, writing that he had previously won the Basketball League title in the southern governorates, while also sharing a picture of him with a ball.
Daabes Mohammad wrote a heartfelt Facebook testimony dedicated to the late Yousef Musa Al-Nabahin: “My companion, my brother, and my beloved. May God give me the patience to leave you. Yesterday you were with me and gave me water to drink, and today you are a martyr.” A smiling Yousef is seen with the author of the post in the attached image.
Hadi Khalid further mentioned 37-year-old Asma Mousa Al-Nabahin who was killed together with her husband, 43-year-old Professor Muhammad Suleiman Al-Nabahin (Abu Suleiman), their three daughters – Jamila Muhammad Al-Nabahin, 16-year-old Raghad Muhammad Al-Nabahin and 12-year-old Rula Suleiman Al-Nabahin, and their 4-year-old son Ayoub Suleiman Al-Nabahin.
University professor Muhammad Suleiman Al-Nabahin (Abu Suleiman) was remembered by his colleagues and friends in their obituaries. Ayman Al-Awawdeh wrote a heartfelt Facebook testimony dedicated to Abu Suleiman: “You were always loved in your work and in your home.” Waseem Abu Sara shared an image of Abu Suleiman sitting in a university auditorium with his colleague. Ibraheem Abu Shamale remembered him as “the friendly brother, fun and polite friend and colleague.”
Hadi Khalid’s testimony also includes the names of the related Abu Madin family members, in particular, her 38-year-old cousin Maysaa Musa Al-Nabahin, her cousin’s husband, 42-year-old Sufyan Fareej Abu Madin, and their children: two sons – 16-year-old Muhammad Sufyan Abu Madin and seven-year-old Karam Sufyan Abu Madin and two daughters – 18-year-old Maryam Sufyan Abu Madin and 12-year-old Yara Sufyan Abu Madin.
Hadi Khalid also mentioned a 38-year-old woman named Wissam Musa Mohammad Abu Dariqah and her one-year-old son Ghaith Iyad Abu Dariqah among the victims.
The deadly bombing also took the lives of the six members of the Huwaishil family, including 38-year-old Saeed Jaber Salman Abu Huwaishil (Abu Al-Abd), his wife Samah Ismail Al Mashukhi (age unknown), and their three daughters – a three-year-old Sarah Saeed Abu Huwaishil, seven-year-old Sila Abu Huwaishil, nine-year-old Alma Abu Huwaishil and their son, 12-year-old Abdul Rahman Abu Huwaishil. The only surviving son was Moaz, according to journalist Adel Zourob and a friend of the late Samah, Sahar Alghoty. Ahmed Salman posted a picture of Saeed Abu Huwaishil’s children.
Saeed Abu Huwaishil was remembered in the Facebook testimonies by his friend Ahmad Ahmad, and his cousins Abu Mohammad, Saree Mansour, and Ali Mansour. Ali Mansour noted that the late Saeed was his childhood friend. The friend of the late Saeed, Ramez Alqtrawi, wrote a touching post on Facebook featuring the wide-smiling Saeed and saying: “I promised you nothing but laughter, joy, the best brother, and the best friend. May God have mercy on you, my beloved Saeed Abu Huwaishil, and may God have mercy on all the martyrs”.
An image shared by Mahmoud Fathy, among others, showed Saeed Abu Huwaishil in a camouflage jacket, while an image shared by Ahed Mahmoud showed him kneeling with a gun. As neither image is definitive in identifying Saeed Abu Huwaishil as having been involved in militant activity, his status has been recorded as contested. This means that his death is included in the upper but not lower count of civilians killed in this incident. Airwars uses only the lower count in analysis. Saeed Abu Huwaishil’s status will be updated should additional information become available.
The deceased daughter of Saeed, Sara Saeed Abu Huwaishil, was only three years old and was likely one of the youngest victims of this attack. Journalist Adel Zourob Official posted a heartbreaking image of Sara’s dead body covered with blood.
Ramee Abu Ismail mentioned her sister, Umm Musa, was severely injured in the incident, but further details about her identity are unknown.
The names of some victims have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023 while the names of some have been matched with the Ministry of Health list released on July 24, 2024.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces. Jo24.net news reported that the attack happened without a prior warning.