On October 17th 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the al-Jazzar family house in the Al Tanour area, in east Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, killing at least 9 civilians – all members of the al-Jazzar family – and injuring 12 others, including three children. Three additional people were killed and have been identified as militants.

63 year old Zaki Mahmoud al-Jazzar was killed along with his six sons: 38 year old Ahmed Zaki al-Jazzar (a militant), 38 year old Mahmoud Zaki al-Jazzar, 27 year old Aziz Zaki al-Jazzar, Jihad Zaki al-Jazzar, 25 year old Saad Zaki al-Jazzar and 39 year old Bilal Zaki al-Jazzar (a militant), with his 28 year old wife Noura, and their three children. A friend of the al-Jazzar family, 28 year old Amjad Abu Shalouf (a militant) was also killed.

When Airwars first published this incident on January 1, 2024, no open sources were found to suggest that Amjad Abu Shalouf, Bilal Zaki al-Jazzar, or Ahmed Zaki al-Jazzar were militants. As such, all three men were recorded as civilians. 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 June 6, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), published a tribute to Amjad Abu Shalouf, identifying him as a “martyred fighter”. On July 6, 2026, the same Telegram account posted a tribute to Bilal Zaki al-Jazzar, also identifying him as a “martyred fighter”.

On July 15, the Telegram account posted the same style of tribute to Ahmed Zaki al-Jazzar, identifying him as a fighter.

In light of these posts, all three men’s statuses were changed from civilian to militant, and the number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident was updated accordingly.

Eman al-Jazzar, a relative of the family posted on Facebook that her aunt’s house “was bombed and its residents were bombed, some of them are martyrs, some are wounded, and many are still under the rubble”. Eman al-Jazzar also said one of those killed, Saad Zaki al-Jazzar, had just gotten married in July. Mohanad Obaid also posted a memorial for the al-Jazzar family, saying to Mahmoud Zaki al-Jazzar “Your father is a hero and you are the man of the house after him”.

Abeer Mohamad posted: “Suddenly, there is no such thing as an uncle, cousins, ancestors, and grandchildren, all of them gone, and the house and the memories of the house are gone.” The Facebook post from Abeer Mohamad also stated “May God have mercy on you, Noura, and forgive you. You went and took your husband and your children with you. That’s it. We’ll stop sitting together and drinking coffee on the porch while the kids were at school. You went and the kids went.” This may be referring to Bilal Zaki al-Jazzar, his wife, and his children, which may indicate that his wife’s name was Noura.

Initial reports stated that there were three to four people killed and a number injured or missing. A Facebook post by Mohanad Obaid added that nine members of the al-Jazzar family had been killed in the alleged strike. Numerous other reports state at least six to nine civilians killed as more information on the incident became clear.

Shehab Agency initially reported on 17th October that the number of injured was 12 and the number of martyred as three. However, on 18th October, Safa Agency along with numerous other sources stated more than 10 civilians were killed, and a number were still missing.

In a video that was widely circulated on social media, a young child named Muhammad Abu Luli is seen shaking “after he woke up to an Israeli bombing that targeted the Al-Jazzar family’s home in his neighborhood in the city of Rafah”. Images show at least three different children being treated for their injuries, including the child Muhammad Abu Luli.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.

Where possible, Airwars has matched names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.