Multiple members of the Sweilem family were reportedly killed after an alleged Israeli airstrike hit their home in the Al Faluga neighborhood of the Northern Gaza Strip on 23 October, 2023. Initially reported by Safa Press Service at 11:58 PM, the strike resulted in at least nine deaths, including four women and two children.
83-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad ‘Awadallah Sweilem was killed with his wife, Fayqa Sweilem (age unknown). Their 51-year-old daughter-in-law, Suzan Sweilem Ismail, was killed along with her three children: 11-year-old Murad Ahmed Sweilem, and Muhannad Ahmed Sweilem and Marwa Ahmed Sweilem, who were both 23. Mahmoud and Fayqa’s other grandchildren, 22-year-old Amir Munther Sweilem, 18-year-old Ahlam Munther Sweilem, and 16-year-old Islam Munther Sweilem, were also reported killed.
Friends and family posted condolence messages on social media, grieving those killed. Mahmoud was remembered as a “Hajj,” and his wife Fayqa as “Hajja,” suggesting that they had both completed the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. Fayqa was described as “generous” and Mahmoud as “kind and compassionate” by Facebook user Haneen Nofal. Relative Nisreen Nofal, posting on Facebook, wrote that the family’s “hearts cannot bear [the] loss.”
Hayaa Thabet remembered Suzan as a mother figure and teacher, and mourned her loss: “As usual, you choose everything exceptional and unique, and now you have chosen heaven.” Suzan was referenced as a “professor” in a post by Mahmoud Nofal. According to user Haneen Nofal, Suzan’s life “was a blessing.”
Two photographs shared by Haneen show a smiling Amir, and a young woman–likely Ahlem–clothed in graduation robes.
Pictures posted by Al-sharq Palestine showed the destruction resulting from the alleged strike, documenting the complete collapse of the building.
Where possible, Airwars has matched names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.