On Friday, October 20, 2023, nine civilian members of the Al-Suwerki family and eight members of the Atallah family were killed when their houses in Yarmouk Street, near the Al Ghafri Junction, in Gaza City, were destroyed due to an alleged Israeli bombing. At least three people were also injured in the incident. Journalist Saed Al-Suwerki, a correspondent for RT, received the news of the loss of his relatives while he was on the live broadcast, and he continued with his message and said “ There is no time to be sad now, meaning that we must not lose our senses”. Two others were identified as militants and also killed.
The Atallah family home next to the Al-Sawerki home was damaged due to the alleged Israeli bombing, killing nine members of the family. @ShehabAgency provided the names of eight members of the family: 74-year-old Muhammad Matar Darwish Atallah (Abu Mansour), Hafez Atallah, 40-year-old Zaher Muhammad Matar Darwish Atallah (Abu Shams) (a militant), Umm Haitham Atallah (Hamdan’s wife), 22-year-old Ismail Atallah, Abdullah Karam Atallah, his twin brother Abdul Karim Karam Atallah, and 16-year-old Jaafar Nasser Mohammed Matar Atallah. A post from Abdalhadi Atallah added Fares Jihad Fares Atallah, who was 21 years old, to the list of those killed from the Atallah family.
Doctor Abdul Rahman Attallah at Shifa Hospital was surprised to find out that one of those killed that he received in the emergency department was his father Hafez Attallah. Family members made heartfelt tributes to the Atallah family and described their grief. Islam Ayoob posted an image of Hafez.
Family members of the al-Swerki family posted tributes to the victims from their family. Sisters 18-year-old Malak Taher Khaled al-Swerki and Fatima Taher Khaled al-Swerki were reportedly killed alongside Fatima’s young children, a boy called Bilal and a girl called Mayar. Fatima and Malak’s brother 24-year-old Basem Taher Khaled Maher (a militant) was also killed. Their sister-in-law Shams Mohammed al-Swerki (al-Harazin), the wife of Musaab al-Swerki, was killed alongside her 2-year-old daughter Linda Musaab Taher al-Swerki. Shams’s mother-in-law, also named Malak Taher or Umm Musaab, was also killed alongside an older female relative named Umm Maher. Samia Maher Al Swirki posted a memorial for her uncle’s wife, Malak Taher (Umm Musaab), and other members of his family: “my dear cousin Fatima, her children Mayar and Bilal, my cousin Malak, the wife of my beloved cousin, Shams and her daughter Linda under the ruins from dawn until now!”
Al-Julani Mosque, in a post on Facebook, reported the deaths of one other member of the al-Swerki family, Youssef Mohamed Yunis Al-Swerki.
Multiple sources reported that “injuries” resulted from the strike, but none provided an exact injury toll. A family member named Abu Maher Al-Swerki, in a tribute post on Facebook, wished a speedy recovery for his uncle Taher Khaled (likely the father of Fatima, Malak and Basem), a male relative named Munir Abu Ahmed, and someone referred to as Molouk Malik, suggesting that at least three people were injured in the incident.
Identifying militants
When Airwars first published this incident, no open sources were found to suggest that Zaher Mohammad Motar Darwish Ata Allah or Basem Taher Khaled Al-Suwerki were militants. As such, both 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 January 1, 2026, a Telegram post from an account affiliated with the Mujahideen Brigades identified Zaher Ata Allah as a militant. On November 26, 2025, a Telegram account affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)’s armed wing published a tribute to Basem Al-Suwerki, identifying him as a militant. As such, Airwars updated both men’s status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from 19 to 17.
Where possible, the names of the 10 fatalities have been reconciled with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities published on October 26, 2023.
Where the sources identified the belligerent, sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.