On the morning of October 23rd 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike on a house for the Al-Batsh family in Jabalia, and a residential apartment in the Al-Faluja neighbourhood killed at least 16 civilians and injured ‘dozens’ more. A 17th person was killed and has been identified as a militant.
Al-Watan News reported that “the bodies of 17 martyrs were also recovered, while there were dozens of injuries” by the airstrikes but did not specify at which location the casualties occurred.
A post from Khaled Al-Batsh provided the names of 11 of those killed: 32-year-old Halima Saleh Al-Batsh, 23-year-old Yasmine Saleh Al-Batsh, 20-year-old Bisan Saleh Al-Batsh, 16-year-old Israa Saleh Al-Batsh, 27-year-old Heba Saleh Al-Batsh, 7-year-old Hamza Rabie Al-Batsh, 4-year-old Tala Rabie Al-Batsh, 35-year-old Aed Muhammad al-Mahrouq, his son 13-year-old Maslama Aed al-Mahrouq, his daugher 8-year-old Bilsan Aed al-Mahrouq, 25-year-old Muhammad Muhammad al-Shorbaji (a militant).
When Airwars first published this incident on August 6, 2024, no open sources were found to suggest that Muhammad Muhammad al-Shorbaji. was a militant. As such, Muhammad Muhammad al-Shorbaji 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 May 2, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a tribute to Muhammad Muhammad al-Shorbaji, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Muhammad Muhammad al-Shorbaji’s status from civilian to militant, and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from 17 to 16.
According to an Al Jazeera video posted on Facebook, women and children were injured as a result of the bombing.
Several images have been uploaded of the aftermath of the strike onto Facebook. In a post by Gaza Days, images have been shared which show a group of men assisting survivors to leave the building, which has been completely exposed due to damage to its exterior wall.
In an image posted by the Twitter/X account @SalemRopp, a man is shown grieving victims, covered and wrapped in cloth, in the aftermath of the strike. According to PNN News Network, which included images of the bodies of at least eight victims, the Al-Batsh family’s home was located near Nassar Junction in Jabalia and at the time of reporting, victims were still under the rubble. @ShehabAgency added that the strike occurred at an apartment in Rayan Tower. Journalist Tayseer Qudeih specified that the home belonged to Saleh Al-Batsh.
All names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of names, released October 26th 2023.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.