On 26th October 2023 at around 1am in the morning, at least 11 civilians, all members of the al-Ran family, including five children and three women, were killed and several others were injured in an alleged airstrike by the Israeli military that struck the home of Dr. Muhammed al-Ran, in the town of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip. A 12th person was killed and has been identified as a militant.
Dr. Muhammed, the head of surgery at the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza was on frontline duty when the incident occurred, along with his relatives Dr. Muayyad al-Ran, and Al-Hakim Sajid al-Ran. Posts by the Indonesian Hospital and other sources on Facebook and Twitter showed photographs of the doctors receiving news about their family, and being comforted. Shehab Agency’s video, widely shared by other sources, showed one of the doctors collapsing in tears when he heard the news, while Dr. Muhammed al-Ran “appeared emotional and patient, but his tears escaped him as those around him tried to console him”, overcome with grief.
Initial reportage from Safa, al-Arabiya and other news media quoted the Hamas-affiliated Ministry of the Interior’s statement that said “a citizen was killed and several others were injured in an Israeli bombing on a house for the Al-Ran family in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip”, with videos shared of ambulances rushing into the hospital with casualties. Later, sources from relatives listed a total of 12 names as those that were killed in the bombing of the two-storey home. Social media user Burhan alleged that the bombing took place at 1am in the morning on Thursday.
The elderly grandfather Mahmoud al-Ran was killed with his wife Aida Ahmed al-Barawi al-Ran. The lives of their son Ahmed Mahmoud al-Ran (34) and his wife Jihan Abd Al-Hafeez al-Ran (30) were also claimed in this attack.
Ahmed and Jihan’s three children – Mahmoud Ahmed al-Ran (7), Ali Ahmed al-Ran (3) and daughter Maryam Ahmed al-Ran (4) were killed along with their parents. Images of the family shared included cheerful selfies taken by Ahmed, a middle-aged man, hugging his little children, as well as images of the elderly Mahmoud, a smiling, bearded man.
Also killed in the alleged strike were the young siblings Muhammad Nael al-Ran (8) and Ibrahim Nael al-Ran (3). Their father Nael Al-Ran, cousin of Dr. Muhammed, posted “My sons who are dearest to my heart, Muhammad and Ibrahim/May God have mercy on you and have mercy on all the martyrs of Palestine”, with images of the two little children, one of them smiling with a thumbs-up.
Two relatives of the family, Ahmed’s aunt Nima Mahmoud Ibrahim Darwish al-Ran (Kifaya) and his cousins, the brothers Amin Adnan al-Ran (47) and Saddam Adnan al-Ran (a militant) also lost their lives in this alleged airstrikes. Darwish Al-Ran shared an image of Amin and Saddam, smiling, bearded men, with a tribute, saying “May God have mercy on you, my brothers and beloved martyrs (Amin and Saddam Adnan Al-Ran). You were dutiful to your parents and compassionate, doing good deeds…. I do not know, my beloved, how to live without your tenderness, kindness, generosity, and smile that have accompanied you throughout your life… My sadness for you will remain with me until I enter my grave.” Images shared of Nima showed an elderly, smiling woman in a hijab.
When Airwars first published this incident, no open sources were found to suggest that Saddam Adnan al-Ran was a militant. As such, Saddam Adnan al-Ran 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 August 9, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Hamas' armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a tribute to Bilal Muhammad Al-Za'noun, identifying him as a fighter. Bilal was not killed in this incident, but the post included a video, which featured a clip of Saddam alongside Bilal at 5:33, identifying Saddam as a martyred commander. As such, Airwars updated Saddam Adnan al-Ran's status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from 12 to 11.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.