Shortly before 8 a.m. on June 7, 2025, nine civilians, including a woman and two children, were reported killed and others were injured by an alleged Israeli gunfire near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid distribution center west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
News agency Safa reported the incident at 8 a.m., informing about five deaths and a number of injuries near an aid center west of Rafah, resulting from Israeli gunfire. At 1 p.m., the agency updated the death toll to eight.
Airwars researchers were able to use multiple news and social media sources to identify the names of nine victims killed, including six men: 21-year-old Saeb Hamad Mahmoud Abu Sawawin, 41-year-old Mohammed al-Abd al-Azara al-Quraan, 33-year-old Alaa Hisham Mohammed Attia, 34-year-old Iyad Salman Abu Jiab, 20-year-old Moaz Mahmoud Ali Qatran, and 42-year-old Yousef Khader Hassan Abu Shab, who was killed alongside his sister, 43-year-old Nawal Khader Hassan Abu Shab. Among the victims was also a 16-year-old boy, Yousef Adel Abbas Khawaja, and a 17-year-old boy, Yasser Abdullah Nasr al-Din Kaheel.
Safa news, Facebook user Mohammed Awad mentioned a number of injuries. According to the post by Mohammed Awad, 20-year-old Moaz Mahmoud Ali Qatran was initially injured but succumbed to his injuries.
The identities of the injured civilians are not known at the time of writing, but the Facebook account of the Abu Muharib Family Youth Association shared a heartbreaking video where a young man who had been injured and was lying on a stretcher was asking to put him down to say farewell to his mother who had been killed. “Let me hug her,” he kept shouting while the people surrounding him tried to stop him.
Many social media sources shared a photo collage of the six victims with a caption, “Martyrs who were shot by the occupation forces while trying to get aid west of Rafah.” The collage contained the images of Saeb Abu Sawawin, Yousef Adel Abbas Khawaja, Yasser Kaheel, Youssef Abu Shab, Mohammed al-Abd al-Azara al-Quraan and Moaz Mahmoud Ali Qatran.
Soon after the deadly shooting, social media tributes to the victims started to pour in on social media.
Katyusha Bint Nasser wrote on Facebook about the innocent victims: “They went to bring flour for their families, and returned covered in blood.”
Facebook account “Echo of the Beach Camp” lamented the death of two children, Yousef Adel Abbas Khawaja and Yasser Abdullah Nasr al-Din Kaheel: “Young children from Al-Shati Camp, were driven by hunger to Rafah to obtain aid. They returned to their homes this morning as martyrs.” The post featured an image of a young smiling boy dressed in a striped T-shirt, a brown vest and jeans, and an image of a dead child.
Abu Muharib Family Youth Association mourned the death of the young man Saeb Hamad Abu Sawawin, writing “Abu_Muharib [and_Abu_Sawawin] family bids farewell to one of its moons (Saeb Hamad Abu Sawawin) who has passed away, God willing. The eye sheds tears, the heart grieves, and we are truly saddened by your departure.” The post was accompanied by an image of the late Saeb dressed in a blue three-piece suit, happily smiling at a camera.
Mohammed Mohammed also grieved Saeb’s death, writing, “With sincere hearts that believe in God’s will, my brother, my love, the light of my eyes, my support, my moon, the martyr, God willing: Saeb Hamad Abu Sawawin, has passed away to the mercy of God.” Jaber Salem Al-Ashhab extended his condolences to Saeb’s nephew Khaled, emphasizing that “the martyrdom of Saeb Hamad Abu Sawawin is a great loss to us all.” Some other relatives also expressed their grief over the loss of Saeb on social media.
Hamada Khedr mourned the death of her neighbor, “the good-natured and reputable Alaa Hisham Attia.” She added two images of the 33-year-old man – one where he was seen standing in a living room dressed in a grey T-shirt and jeans, and in the second one, he was posing wearing a grey long-sleeved shirt. He was a clean-shaven man with short dark hair and large brown eyes.
The Facebook account “Meeting Basmala Muhammad” informed about the death of Alaa, sharing his image of a young man dressed in a white short-sleeved hoodie, holding a small girl in his arms.
Mohammed al-Abd al-Azara al-Quraan was remembered in a Facebook post by his cousin Ahmed Naeem. “With hearts of faith, content with Allah’s will and destiny, my cousin, the martyr Muhammad al-Abd Azara al-Quraan, has passed away. O Allah, have mercy on him, forgive him, and make Paradise his abode,” wrote Ahmed, attaching two images to the post. One of the images showed the dead body of Mohammed, and another one – his funeral.
The Facebook account of Eastern Pulse informed about the death of Yousef Khader Hassan Abu Shab and his sister Nawal, sharing the image of the late Yousef, a middle-aged man wearing a red-and-white sweater, a black jacket and blue jeans.
According to the sources, 34-year-old Iyad Salman Abu Jiab was from the al-Maghazi refugee camp. Facebook user “Mother of the Slave” mourned the death of her nephew Iyad, writing that she received “the news of his martyrdom” with deep sadness.
All names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the tenth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on July 16, 2025.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all the sources attributed the shooting to the Israeli military.
Geolocation indicates GHF proximity.