On Sunday, October 22nd, 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the Abu Iyada family home in Tal Al Sultan, the Saudi neighborhood located west of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, reportedly killing 15 civilians spanning two generations, and injuring others. A 16th person was killed and has been recorded as a militant.
Among those killed were 47-year old Adel Abu Iyada and his two sons, 18-year old Ahmed Adel Abu Iyada and 14-year old Alaa Adel Abu Iyada. Also killed in the strike were 47-year old Muhammad Mahmoud Abu Iyada, his daughter, 5-year old Habiba Muhammad Abu Iyada, and his two sons,12-year old Abdullah Muhammad Abu Iyada and 2-year old Malik Muhammad Abu Iyada. 29-year old Azmi Mahmoud Abu Iyada (a militant) was killed along with his heavily-pregnant wife, Jihan Bassam al-Maghari, and their son, 4-year old Zain Azmi Abu Iyada. In addition, Essam Mahmoud Abu Iyada, his wife, 39-year old Sabreen Muhammad Abu Iyada, and their daughter, 14-year old Menna Essam Abu Iyada were killed. Sobhiya Abu Iyada and her infant daughter, Mervat Abu Iyada were killed, as was the child of Muhammad al-Saifan and Kamal Abu Iyada, 14-year old Fathi Muhammad al-Saifan.
When Airwars first published this incident on May 1, 2024, no open sources were found to suggest that Azmi Mahmoud Abu Iyada was a militant. As such, Azmi Mahmoud Abu Iyada 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 23, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)’s armed wing, published a tribute to Azmi Mahmoud Abu Iyada, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Azmi Mahmoud Abu Iyada’s status from civilian to militant, and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from 16 to 15.
Condolence messages alongside pictures honouring Adel Abu Iyada and his family were posted on Facebook by various relatives and acquaintances, including Majd Aram Abu Al-Joud, Bassam Falcon (Jihan Bassam’s brother), Rawya Ismail (Fathi’s cousin), and Majd Aram Abu Al-Joud (Azmi’s friend and Jihan’s brother-in-law). Fouad Al-Sufi Abu Fadi mourned the loss of his “sincere, truthful, and loyal friend,” “brother,” and “lifelong companion” Adel by stating that “his departure broke him.” This message of grief was echoed on another post by Mohammed Omar Abubaid, Adel’s “beloved” friend. Mohammad Saker, Sabreen’s nephew, fondly described his aunt as “affectionate,” while Fathi’s aunt, Ya-hala, also lamented the loss of her “beloved” nephew, expressing that he was “dear to her heart.”
Photos shared of 14-year old Alaa and 14-year old Fathi show smiling boys. One, shared by Facebook user Omar T Alqutai, includes a side-by-side comparison of a grinning Alaa next to a body bag tagged with his name. User Rawya Ismail similarly posted candid and posed pictures of Fathi, along with a final image of him wrapped in a body bag.
Shortly after the bombardment, user @AlQastalps reported that “a number of martyrs and wounded” had arrived at al-Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah, though no other details were available about the identity of the remaining victims or their condition.
The following day, user @abeeribrahim69 shared a picture capturing an unidentified child from the Abu Iyada family “bidding farewell to his family members after 11 of them were martyred.”
According to a testimony posted on Facebook by Fathi’s aunt, Ya-hala, the house was destroyed “without warning,” and Gaza Days shared images illustrating the devastating aftermath of the bombardment and revealing volunteers retrieving bodies from beneath the rubble.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023