At dawn on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, a young woman, Samira Samir Mahmoud al-Halis and her younger brother, Amr (Amaro) Samir Mahmoud al-Halis were killed along with seven other civilians, and fifteen civilians were reportedly injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Al-Halees Building located near the Al-Quds Hospital, south of Gaza City.
According to a Shehab Agency correspondent, up to nine people were killed in the incident, with 15 more being injured. Other Twitter/X users corroborated this information, sharing the same death and injury toll. Raya FM shared an image along with news of the incident depicting a medic carrying a toddler rescued from the rubble.
Following news of the incident, friends and family took to social media to mourn the loss of their loved ones. Facebook user Rami Samier Alhalis shared how he lost his 17-year-old brother, Amr Samir al-Halis, and his 20-year-old sister Samira Samir al-Halis, a pharmacist. He also shared an image of the late Amr, a smiling young boy dressed in a white shirt and beige trousers sitting on a couch in a cafe.
Mahmoud S Qudaih shared his condolences with Abu Mahmoud Samir al-Halis, the father of Samira and Amr, in a Facebook post. In the post, Mahmoud asked that God “bless his dear friend” and “grant the highest Paradise” to those killed in the incident.
In another post, Facebook user Awni al-Wadiya shared that he had been one of those injured in the incident, stating that by God’s grace, he survived the “brutal bombing” of the Al-Halis building in Tal Al-Hawa.
The names of the victims have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023, the MoH has released six lists, along with an additional list of medical professionals, which was released on September 17, 2024. Airwars matches individuals to the first list where their names appeared. In regard to this incident, most of the names were matched to the first “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on October 26, 2023.
The identities of other victims are not known at the time of writing.
Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.