At dawn on Monday, 23 October 2023, at least 14 identified members of the Sukkar family, including two women and seven children, were killed and others injured in an alleged Israeli bombing on the home of the Al-Ustad family in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City. A 15th member of the family was killed and has been identified as a militant.
The patriarch of the family, 72-year-old Riyad Sukkar was killed along with his two sons, Ismail Sukkar and 50-year-old Salem Sukkar.
Salem Sukkar’s wife, 45-year-old Sanaa Issa Hassan Khalifa Sukkar, and five of their children also reportedly died in the attack. Their three sons, 23-year-old Riyad Salem Sukkar, 20-year-old Muhammad Salem Sukkar and 17-year-old Ahmed Salem Sukkar (a militant) were reportedly killed, as were two of their daughters, 15-year-old Zahida Salem Sukkar and 8-year-old Shahd Salem Sukkar.
Riyad’s wife Souad Hossam Muharram was also killed, along with the couple’s infant daughter, Sousso Sukkar.
Ismail Sukkar’s wife, 28-year-old Rana Kamal Mohamed Abusalmiya Matar was also killed in the alleged Israeli airstrike, along with their two sons, 7-year-old Bilal Sukkar and Bahaa Sukkar and their daughter, Bilsan Sukkar.
When Airwars first published this incident on September 23, 2024, no open sources were found to suggest that Ahmed Salem Sukkar was a militant. As such, Ahmed Salem Sukkar 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 30, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)’s armed wing, Martyr Omar Al-Qasim Brigades, published a tribute to Ahmed Salem Sukkar, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Ahmed Salem Sukkar’s status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from 15 to 14.
Relatives and friends mourned those lost on social media and attached pictures of the aftermath. A photo shared by Hossam Muharram, the father of Souad, shows him grieving over Souad’s body, wrapped in a body bag tagged with her name. He also shared images of Riyad, and a final photograph of a sleeping Sousso.
Hossam again posted on January 21, 2024, three months “since [his] separation [from] the most precious human beings.” On March 3rd, Hossam shared a video of a laughing Sousso, calling her the “sweetheart of her grandpa.”
One Facebook post from Atef Sukkar, the nephew of Riyad Sukkar, reported that the family was permanently erased from the civil registry as a result of the bombing.
Safa News Agency, along with multiple other sources, reported that the Ministry of Interior had confirmed injuries as a result of the alleged Israeli attack. No further details were given.
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.
One name was partially reconciled but cannot be considered definitive. Souad Hossam Muharram may be 16-year-old Suad Husam Rushad Mahram. This match is considered partial due to Souad’s status as a mother, which may not cohere with the age of the woman listed in the Ministry of Health list.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli Military.