Shortly before 10:36 PM on Sunday, October 22nd 2023, the Al-Ghandour family’s house in Beit Lahia, near the Abu Ubaida Center, in the north of the Gaza Strip, was allegedly hit by Israeli aircraft bombing, resulting in at least 18 and potentially more than 25 deaths, including at least four women and at least five children. Sources referred to a large number of others also injured in the strike, though exact figures were not found.
Initially, Shehab Agency and the Gaza Interior Ministry reported about four people killed and a number of injuries. Later on, Muhammad Hazem Al-Masry wrote about a large number of injured, and Umm lol about “dozens of martyrs and wounded” as a result of the attack. Rafat Abu Alaa reported about 16 civilians killed, noting that the death toll may increase due to many remaining under the rubble. Activist Mohamed Yousif stated that more than 25 members of Al-Ghandour family were killed with some remaining under the rubble.
Among them, 18 members of the family who were killed were identified by Airwars based on social media testimonies by relatives and friends. A 60-year-old man named Muhammad Badr Fahd Al-Ghandour (also known as Abu Badr) and his wife, 56-year-old Maryam Ahmed Al-Ghandour (Al-Halabi) were killed alongside their eight sons, daughter, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren.
Their sons who were killed were identified as 30-year-old Fahd Muhammad Badr Al-Ghandour, 22-year-old Omar Muhammad Badr Al-Ghandour, 20-year-old Youssef Muhammed Badr Al-Ghandour and 18-year-old Muhammad Muhammad Badr Al-Ghandour. Three other sons of theirs were also killed: Hamza Muhammad Badr Al-Ghandour, 39-year-old Badr Muhammad Badr Al-Ghandour, and 37-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad Badr Al-Ghandour.
Their newly-wed son, Mustafa Muhammad Badr Al-Ghandour, and his wife, 22-year-old Ahlam Muhammad Salim Al-Ghandour (Farhat), were killed.
Muhammed and Maryam’s 9-year-old daughter, Nisma Muhammad Badr Al-Ghandour, was killed alongside her nieces and nephews. They were identified as Mahmoud’s four children: his daughters, 12-year-old Maryam Mahmoud Muhammad Al-Ghandour and Maria Mahmoud Muhammad Badr Al-Ghandour, who was described as a child, and his sons, 14-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Muhammad Al-Ghandour and 13-year-old Qusay Mahmoud Muhammad Al-Ghandour.
Two other family members, a 40-year-old man named Shehada Badr Fahd Al-Ghandour and a 38-year-old female relative called Tawfiqa Muhammad Salim Al-Ghandour were also killed.
Family members and friends of the Al-Ghandour made heartfelt tributes and described their grief. Multiple sources described victims remaining buried under the rubble but didn’t identify the number of victims or their names.
One relative of the family, Ahmed Sardah, in a post on Facebook, expressed his distress and pleaded for anyone who lived near the Al-Ghandour family in Beit Lahia or the area of the Indonesian Hospital to check on them and reassure him.
Where the sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
The names of fifteen victims have been reconciled with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities published on October 26, 2023.