On Monday, October 23, 2023, at least 14 civilians, most of them children and members of the same family, were killed and a number of others were injured in a strike on the home of the Abu Rashwan family in the Qizan Rashwan area, south of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. The alleged Israeli airstrike was reported to have occurred at dawn.

According to several official sources and the families’ social media accounts, the deceased include Amer Kamal Rashwan (42 years old), his wife, Narges Obaid Rashwan (42-46 years old), their daughters, Aisha Amer Rashwan (12-14 years old) and Ahlam Amer Rashwan (21 years old), their son Muhammad Amer Rashwan (child), as well as Hussein Nael Abdel Karim Al Akkad, the 4-month-old infant son of Ahlam Amer Rashwan.

Also killed in the strike were Amer Kamal’s brother, Khaled Kamal Rashwan (34 years old), his wife, Hanaa Akram Rashwan (25 years old) and their children, Amjad Khaled Rashwan (3 years old) and Alma Khaled Rashwan (1 year old).

In addition, three of Amer Kamal’s nieces also lost their lives: Joan Ibrahim Rashwan (4-5 years old), Layan Ibrahim Rashwan (5-6 years old), Jinan Ibrahim Rashwan (2-3 years old) and Aseel Ibrahim Rashwan, a 16-day-old infant.

According to a condolence post on Facebook by user إصلاح خانيونس (Islah Khanyounis), Amer Kamal Rashwan was a respected figure in his community, serving as the Head of the Implementation Department at the Khan Younis Sharia Court and the Head of the Youth Reform Department in the Al-Balad region. While this role would likely have involved being part of the bureaucracy controlled by Hamas in Gaza, there were no indications that he was in any way engaged with the organisation’s military wing. According to several Facebook posts, he was considered a ‘Sheikh’, a prominent citizen and community leader.

Multiple sources posted an image of a distraught Nael Al Akkad mourning the loss of his wife Ahlan and their son Hussein.

A tweet from @magazine_wafaa quoted the Palestinian Interior Ministry which reported that “6 children and a woman” were killed and a number of others were injured in the strike.

The tragic incident has garnered widespread attention and sorrow on social media. Heart-wrenching images of the deceased children, shared by family members and close friends, have circulated widely, capturing the moment their bodies were recovered from the site and taken to the morgue. The outpouring of grief and condolences highlights the deep impact this loss has had on the community.

Where sources named a responsible belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.