On Wednesday, October 18th 2023, an alleged Israeli strike hit the al-Baba family home located near the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza City, reportedly killing 14 civilians spanning three generations, including seven children and six women, among them a mother with one-month-old quadruplets. A 15th member of the family was identified as a militant and also killed.

Among those killed were three generations of the al-Baba family. A 59-year-old grandfather Khaled Hassan Wadi al-Baba (Abu Fadi) was killed alongside his wife, Maha Abdel Karim Basal, one of their sons, the 32-year-old lawyer Muhammad Khaled Hassan al-Baba (Abu Anas, a militant), and their three daughters, a 34-year old Azhar Khaled Hassan Wadi al-Baba, a 29-year old Aya Khaled Hassan al-Baba, and a 26-year old Bisan Khaled al-Baba.

When Airwars first published this incident on March 1, 2024, no open sources were found to suggest that Muhammad Khaled Hassan al-Baba was a militant. As such, Muhammad Khaled Hassan al-Baba 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 May 17, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), published a tribute to Muhammad Khaled Hassan al-Baba, identifying him as a “martyred commander”. As such, Airwars updated Muhammad Khaled Hassan al-Baba’s status from civilian to militant, and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from 15 to 14.

Various relatives and acquaintances posted condolence messages honouring the late Khaled and his family on Facebook. The al-Baba family account posted the tribute on Facebook mourning the death of the 15 family members. Khaled’s nephew, Husni Shahibar, described his aunt Maha as his “second mother” and “the best creation of his Lord.” He also referred to his uncle Khaled as his “teacher” and “second father.”

Numerous friends and relatives wrote tributes to Khaled’s son, Muhammad Abu Anas, who was a lawyer. Muhammad’s friends, Mohamed Sameer Abdel-Al and Abed Alrahman Shbair shared pictures of Muhammad, a young bearded man, and described him as a “kind-hearted friend” with a “pure soul” and a “cheerful face,” while Abu Amal Palestine referred to him as his “beloved brother” and “childhood friend.”

Khaled’s daughter-in-law, Wafa Abdel Khaleq al-Suwayrki was killed alongside her one-month-old quadruplets – a daughter named Maha Fadi al-Baba and three sons, Khaled Fadi al-Baba, Abdul Khaleq Fadi al-Baba, and Mahmoud Fadi al-Baba. Various sources, including Wafa’s cousin, Mohannad al-Suwaryki and Twitter/X user @Layann1948, among others, reported that Wafa had been trying to have children for 15 years; her story had recently been featured in news media along with pictures. Facebook user Abdel Kareem Al-Tam posted the images of the four dead infants.

Another daughter-in-law of Khaled and Maha, Nesma al-Yaziji, was also killed alongside her infant daughters – Maha Hassan al-Baba, Miral Hassan al-Baba, and Massa Hassan al-Baba.

According to a Facebook post by Maha’s cousin, Khael Rabee, the only survivor of the attack was Hassan Fadi, Nesma’s husband.

Though the exact local time of the incident is unknown, the Palestinian Press Agency reported on the same day at 7:17 a.m. that the remains of Wafa and her four children had been recovered from beneath the rubble.

The names of ten victims have been reconciled with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities published on October 26, 2023.

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