In the early hours of Friday, October 20th, 2023, alleged Israeli airstrikes hit the Al-Farra and Hadayed’s family homes in the Sheikh Nasser neighbourhood of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, reportedly killing 10 civilians spanning three generations. The victims of the attack included three children, five women, and two men. An 11th member of the Al-Faraa family was also killed and has been identified as a militant.
Among those killed were grandfather 70 year old Abdul Raouf Saleh Ali al-Farra and his wife 60 year old Samira Muhammad Harzallah, alongside their two daughters, 21 year old Ghadeer Abdel Raouf Saleh al-Farra and 25 year old Hala Abdel Raouf Saleh al-Farra, their son, 32 year old Ibrahim Abdel Raouf Saleh al-Farra (a militant), and their daughter-in-law, Heba Salim Abu Nimah. The incident, reported by The Palestine Post (@PalpostN) and Twitter/X user @ehabomar21 to have occurred in the early morning hours of Friday, also claimed the lives of Abdul and Samira’s grandson (Heba and Ibrahim’s children), less than a year old Abdel Raouf Ibrahim Abdel Raouf al-Farra, and granddaughter, 1 year old Siwar Ibrahim Abdel Raouf al-Farra, as well as the Hadayed family’s young member Raed Abu Hadayed and his wife, whose name is still unknown. @ehabomar21’s tweet mentioned that “there were no survivors under the rubble” and a post from Yaser Mouaye Alfarra mentioned that at the time, the child Samira Ibrahim al-Farra’s body was still under rubble, indicating that young Samira was among those killed.
When Airwars first published this incident on February 1, 2024, no open sources were found to suggest that Ibrahim Abdel Raouf Saleh al-Farra was a militant. As such, Ibrahim Adel Raouf Saleh al-Farra 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 July 1, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a tribute to Ibrahim Abdel Raouf Saleh al-Farra, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Ibrahim Abdel Raouf Saleh al-Farra’s status from civilian to militant, and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from 11 to 10.
Condolences messages, along with several pictures honoring the victims, were posted on Facebook by various relatives and acquaintances, including Samira’s cousin, Asmaa Alfarra, and her nephew, Yehia Alagha; Abrahim’s cousin, Mohammed Shoaib Farra; a close friend who referred to him as his “beloved brother”, Hasan Ouda; and his classmate, Abod Elregeb, who stated that his “wise friend” Ibrahim was “one of the best of His creations in morals and upbringing”. Tarek Alfarra and Yaser Mouaye Alfarra also documented the aftermath of the bombardment and shared photos taken during the al-Farra’s family members’ funeral on Facebook.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces. According to testimonies posted on Twitter/X and Facebook by @DrWhotreatsman and Jomaa Alfarra, respectively, the Al-Farra’s residence was destroyed “without warning”.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.