At least 12 people, including at least one child and four women, one of whom was pregnant, were killed and 15 others were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the al-Ela residence in Bani Suhila in Khan Younis on October 13th, 2023. Three other people were killed and have been identified as militants.

The Rakab family posted the names of 14 civilians killed during the destruction of the “Abu Al-Ela family home, Al-Raqab in Bani Suhaila”, in addition to 15 others injured.

Many of those killed were from the al-Ela al-Raqab family. Based on names, it seems likely that Khaled Ismail Abu al-Ala al-Raqab (56) was killed along with his wife “Umm Hassan” (likely Hala Mahmoud Abu al-Ela al-Raqab, 46) and their children Ahmed Khaled Abu al-Ela al-Raqab (26, a militant), Hassan Khaled Ismail Abu al-Ala al-Raqab (30), Karim Khaled Abu al-Ela al-Raqab, Taqi Khaled Abu al-Ela al-Raqab (23) and Rahaf Khaled Ismail Abu al-Ela al-Raqab (9).

The Rakab family Facebook referred to Hassan and Ahmed as “the family’s young son” and to Khaled as a pharmacist.  A post from Ismeil Farid quoted the last thing that Ahmed Khaled Abu al-Ela wrote before he was killed, which translates to “We won’t forgive or forget those who did not help us”. The Bani Suhayla martyrs school posted a memorial for Rahaf who was a student there.

Another family member of the al-Ela family was killed. Mohammed Abu Al-Ela posted a memorial for his father 53 year old Majed Hussein Abu al-Ela al-Raqab of whom he said “the pain of your separation is that I did not have the honor of saying goodbye to you and taking a farewell look.”

Others not from the al-Ela al-Raqab family were also killed in the same bombing: Zuhair Muhammad Fadl Abu Shab (21), Ihab Muhammad Hosni Abu Youssef (30), Muhammad Iyad Baraka (23), Asmaa Abdul Karim Abu Salah (21), and Wasfiya Muhammad Abdel Aziz Abu Tir (70) were all killed.

Alaa Mahmoud Abu Saada (22), Arif Abdul Salam Arif al-Qara (23), and Ahmed Khaled Abu al-Ela al-Raqab have been identified as militants and also killed.

When Airwars first published this incident, no open sources were found to suggest that the three men were militants. As such, both men were 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 Ahmed Khaled Abu al-Ela al-Raqab, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Ahmed Khaled Abu al-Ela al-Raqab’s status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident accordingly.

On July 25, 2026, another Telegram account affiliated with Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a similar tribute to Alaa Mahmoud Abu Saada, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Alaa Mahmoud Abu Saada status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident accordingly.

On September 15, 2026, a similar account published a tribute to Arif Abdul Salam Arif al-Qara, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Arif Abdul Salam Arif al-Qara status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident accordingly.

Um elzoz posted a memorial for “the apple of my eye and my beloved” Zuhair Muhammad Fadl Abu Shab who they described as “Everyone knows you and bears witness that you are the righteous and honest son. May God grant us all patience in your separation.”

The Abu Salah family posted a memorial to Asmaa Abdul Karim Abu Salah who “rose to the top of the house of the Abu Al-Ala family to join the hundreds of moons who preceded her.”

The Alqara family posted a memorial to the “good young man” Arif Abdul Salam Arif al-Qara. It should be noted that Arif Abdul Salam Arif al-Qara is possibly related to civilians listed in incident ISPT0187C, who share the same surname.

A tweet from diabmashni reported that the bodies of 11 of those killed were taken to Nasser Hospital after the attack. A video posted by Mustafa shows the shrouded body of “the mother and her fetus” indicating that at least one of the women killed was pregnant.

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. PNRB News stated that no warning had been given before the strike.