Around 7:40 on Sunday morning, October 22nd 2023, a 68-year old Palestinian civilian Hajj Abdul Mohsen Abu al-Rous and his 6-year old grandson Majd Muhammad Abdul Mohsen Abu al-Rous were reportedly killed by an alleged Israeli airstrike on their home, located next to the Al-Qassam cemetery in the Nuseirat refugee camp, west of Rafah, in the Gaza strip.
@Qudspress reported that “planes bombed the homes of the […] Abu al-Rus family […] resulting in a number of martyrs and injuries.” No other sources mentioned injuries, or provided an injury toll.
Relatives of the family took to Facebook to confirm the death of their loved ones. Sami Abu Al-Rous posted a picture of his uncle Abdul Mohsen Abu al-Rous dressed in a suit in his workplace, and expressed his pain. Muhammad Issa Shukani posted on Facebook to mourn the loss of his two family members, attaching a picture of Abdul Mohsen Abu al-Rous and Majd Muhammad Abu al-Rous’ corpses lying on a white cloth. He wrote: “Majd, despite his young age, was martyred while raising his index finger”. Their funeral took place the following day, on Monday 23rd of October 2023 at Jabal Al-Shamali Pier, above Shukani Furniture.
The following day, on Monday 23rd of October 2023, Majd’s father and Abdul Mohsen’s son Abu Anas posted on Facebook expressing his sorrow at the death of his father and son, while also expressing gratitude that the rest of his family members were able to be pulled from the rubble. Two days later, on Wednesday 25th of October 2023, he expressed his pain in a Facebook post, attaching an image of him and his son Majd Muhammad Abu al-Rous, together and both smiling directly at the camera. He wrote “The last picture of me with Majd when he was one of the people of Earth. Majd is gone. May the most generous of us all rise (my beloved father, my role model, the crown of my head, Abu Imad, my son, and the delight of my liver, glory). May their souls rest in peace”.
The incident was further corroborated by local news outlets such as @MadeinGaza and @paltoday_tv.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces. According to the Facebook account “Made in Gaza”, the attack happened without prior warning.