Shortly before 3:10 PM on Thursday, October 19, 2023, the Abu Odeh (Abu Aouda) family home located by the Al Mustafa stadium behind the Al Amal neighbourhood market in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, was destroyed in a declared Israeli airstrike. One source, @Hamzaalnamla1, in a post on X/Twitter described the strike as occurring in the Japanese neighbourhood near the Social Affairs Offices. According to initial reports by local sources, 45 family members were wounded, and at least 17 family members, including at least five women and at least 11 children, were killed. An 18th member of the family was killed and has been identified as a militant.
On October 20, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces English-language Telegram account announced that Amjad Majed Muhammad Abu ‘Odeh was killed in the military’s strikes. As a result, Airwars has recorded the strike status as ‘declared’.
Upon initial review of open-sources regarding the strike on the family home, as well as Amjad’s personal social media accounts, Airwars did not find other claims indicating that Amjad (Majed Muhammad) was involved in militant activity. Facebook user Mossab al-lahham remembered Amjad by referring to him as ‘the hero’, but in line with Airwars’ methodology, such an invocation is not enough to change someone’s civilian status to militant. As such, despite the military’s report, Amjad was originally 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 23, 2024, a Telegram account affiliated with Hamas' armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a tribute to Amjad Majed Muhammad Abu ‘Odeh, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Amjad Majed Muhammad Abu ‘Odeh's status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from 18 to 17.
@Mustafa3Ahed shared an image on X/Twitter, taken by Mohammed Marjan from a distance, reportedly showing the strike. An enormous cloud of smoke and dust filled the sky. @Hamzaalnamla1 shared a similar image.
Shehab Agency was the first to report about the event, mentioning several injuries and sharing images of the two small injured children, a boy and a girl, being treated by doctors. The news agency Alaraby reported seven killed victims. Journalist Ahmad Qudeih reported that among the victims of the incident were also displaced civilians from the Al-Namnam family.
Quds News reported dozens of injured and shared a video on its Twitter/X account showing ambulances arriving at a hospital and injured civilians, including children, being carried in on stretchers. Facebook user Nables Sameeh Abu Ataiyah reported that, in total, 45 civilians were wounded in the incident.
Al Jazeera Palestine shared a graphic video showing dead bodies in white shrouds lying on the ground, with the names of victims being written on them. Palestine Today news agency also shared images of the shrouds along with a graphic image of a dead boy, with his face and body covered in blood.
Airwars researchers have identified the names of 18 family members who were killed in the incident.
Among those named were 57-year-old Sabah Diab Hassan Abu Odeh (Umm Amjad) and her eldest son, 31-year-old Amjad Majed Muhammad Abu Odeh (a militant), who was described as a beloved and kind friend by Mohamed Adnan Elzatma. Amjad’s wife, 30-year-old Manal Ziyad Khamis Abu Odeh, who was six-month pregnant, was killed alongside their five-year-old daughter, Maria Amjad Majed Abu Odeh, and three sons: three-year-old Ahmed Amjad Majid Abu Odeh, eight-year-old Majid Amjad Majid Abu Odeh, and Abdul Rahman Amjad Majid Abu Odeh whose age is unknown.
Family member Mona Zead further listed the names of the victims. The 32-year-old daughter of Sabah and Mona’s cousin, Magda Majed Muhammad Abu Odeh, was killed along with her son and two daughters, 12-year-old Khaled Maher Khaled Abu Obaid, three-year-old Munallah Maher Khaled Abu Obaid, and six-year-old Nada Maher Khaled Abu Obaid.
Magda’s sister-in-law, Hajja Anshrah Muhammad Hassan Abu Odeh, and her daughter Sabreen Ahmed Tabaza were also killed in the deadly airstrike. Sabreen’s husband was allegedly injured in the incident and had to have his feet and hands amputated following the bombing, which “tore them to pieces.”
Abu Malek and Mohammad Emad Tabaze mourned the death of their grandmother Anshrah and their aunt Sabreen. Mohammad shared an image of the elderly Anshrah from before the incident.
Two daughters of a family member named Magdalene, 10-year-old Yasmeen Muhammad Fayez Abu Odeh and her sister, two-year-old Eileen Muhammad Fayez Abu Odeh, were also killed in the strike.
Amjad Majed Hassan Abu Odeh's daughters, 12-year-old Ghazal Hassan Khaled Abu Obaid, were also killed alongside 15-year-old Mohammed Majed Mohamed Abu Odeh were also among those killed.
Mona Zead wrote a Facebook obituary for her relatives, listing their names. She said “My heart is my beloved, and the one who makes my pain and heartbreak easy for me is my beloved aunt/Sabah Diab Hassan Abu Odeh (Umm Amjad) and her son. Amjad Majed Muhammad Abu Odeh “Abu Majid”, my sister’s husband. Manal Ziyad Khamis Abu Odeh … the pulse of my heart, Umm Majid and her children.”
According to Mona, Amjad and Manal’s son, Majid Amjad Majid Abu Odeh, memorized the Qur’an at six years of age and was preparing to recite the Qur’an in one sitting in the coming days.
Jolya Alfadaa shared an image of the dead body of Manal Abu Odeh in a white shroud, adding that she was six months pregnant at the time of her death.
The death of Amjad, his wife, and all of their children was mourned in many Facebook posts, including those by Mossab al-Lahham, Mohammad Abu Basel, and Mohamed Adnan El Zatma. They shared images of Amjad, a young smiling bearded man.
According to Amjad’s Facebook account, he received a diploma in Ambulance and Emergency studies at the Institute of Ambulance Officers. Additionally, Amjad’s profile said that he studied in a Baccalaureate Nursing program at the Palestine College of Nursing in 2014, before completing a Master’s in Crisis and Disaster Management at the Islamic University of Gaza. His profile also said that he had been pursuing a doctorate degree in nursing since 2020.
On May 2, 2025, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza posted a ‘daily emergency report’ to it’s Telegram account. On page 33, Amjad was named among the nurses reportedly killed by Israeli forces at that point.
Khadeeja Nabeel Ouwad also shared her grief on Facebook over the loss of “sweetheart of the soul, joy of the heart … my friend, sister, and beloved, A. Manal Ziad Abu Odeh” and her husband and children. Khadeeja shared two images of Manal’s children, one featuring Majid in a white embroidered shirt, another one – Maria in a traditional dress, and one graphic image of Majid’s dead body.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.
On October 20, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces English-language Telegram account announced that “During the strikes, Amjad Majed Muhammad Abu ‘Odeh, a Hamas naval operative was who took part in the massacre of Israeli civilians in southern Israel, was killed. In addition, a terror squad belonging to the Hamas aerial array was neutralized in a targeted strike Gaza City, after they attempted to fire rockets at a jet.” The post closed with the line “Attached is a video of the strike,” followed by a link to a video. The linked video included strike footage stitched together from a number of different incidents. Reviewing the footage, Airwars’ geolocation team did not find that any of the strikes depicted were that on the Abu Odeh family home. Still, as the statement declared killing Amjad, the strike status for this incident remains declared. This will be updated should additional information become available.