On the 7th of October 2024, at dawn, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the Al-Halabi family home in the Al-Saftawi area, north of Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip, reportedly killing 54-year-old school Principal Nevin Ahmed al-Halabi (al-Tatar) and her 18-year-old son, Ahmed Mohammed al-Halabi. Nevin’s husband, Mohammed al-Halabi, was reported to have suffered a serious injury on his foot, which had to be amputated, with some sources mentioning “injuries” resulting from the bombing.
X/Twitter user @zhrtala40042157 posted a video reporting an incident in the Saftawi area in which a big column of smoke can be seen coming out of a building. According to reports on social media, when the incident was first reported at 7 a.m., only injuries had been registered, but as of 9 a.m. that same day, Msdr News already reported “a martyr and wounded as a result of Israeli shelling on a house belonging to the ‘Halabi’ family in the Saftawi area.”
The messages of family members writing in tribute to the victims indicate that Nevin was the first victim who died, and Ahmed Mohammed remained wounded for some time before passing away, as some messages wished for his quick recovery alongside that of his father, before mourning his death later on.
Following the incident, messages from family and friends mourning the victims flooded social networks. Hani Al-Halabi, the son of Nevin and brother of Ahmed Mohammed wrote “my mother, the joy of my heart and my only brother and support, your separation is dear to our hearts and pains us”, also wishing a speedy recovery to his beloved father. In his post, Hani included a picture of him posing smiling next to his mother, Nevin, and another one of him with his brother, Ahmed Mohammed, both smiling to the camera and wearing suits. In a later post, he also shared a video that included a compilation of daily life clips featuring Nevin and Ahmed: – cooking, and spending time with their family.
A month after the strike, Hani reflected on unanswerable questions he had for his mother: “Every time I lay my head on the pillow, I wonder: How did you suddenly leave me without saying goodbye? How were your last moments? How did you feel before the treacherous missile came and you ascended to the sky? You didn’t come and tell me that that conversation after the dawn prayer was the last between us!” He “wished [she] was here because there are many conversations in [his] heart.”
Many other family members offered their condolences to the family for their losses and sent prayers for the recovery of Mohammed al-Halabi. In most messages, they remarked on the “year of hunger, fatigue and great patience in the north” that the family had had to endure, and most of them also shared a picture of Nevin wearing a pink hijab and smiling at the camera while sitting on a school desk.
Additionally, the General Union of Palestinian Teachers (West Gaza Branch) also lamented the loss of their “honorable colleague, the director of Cairo School, sister and colleague Nevin Al-Tatari/Al-Halabi.” The Cairo Primary School for Girls offered their “condolences for the martyrdom of the school principal, the caring mother, the virtuous educator, and even the beloved one dear to our hearts. The principal, the educator of generations, Nevin Al-Tatar, and her young son, Ahmed Mohammed Al-Halabi.”
Work colleagues added to the messages of tribute, such as Wa Yabqa Alamal or Rose Abd Alazeem Kandil, who described Nevin as “the most beautiful, kindest, and most compassionate manager, colleague, sister, lover, and friend.” Rose also wrote a message of support for the rest of Nevin’s children, writing “May God give you patience, Amani, Yusra, Reem, Majdal, and Hani, on the loss of your mother and dear Ahmed, and may He heal Abu Hani.” She also included a headshot of Nevin, who can be seen smiling to the camera while wearing a colourful hijab.
Many prayers were also aimed at the quick recovery of Mohammed al-Halabi. His brother, Adli Al-Halabi, wrote “I offer my condolences to my brother Abu Hani on the martyrdom of his wife Umm Hani and his dear son Ahmed. May Abu Hani recover from the serious injury and amputation of his foot. A recovery that leaves no illness.”
Both of 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 a number of lists, along with an additional list of medical professionals, which was released on September 17, 2024. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, the name of Nevin was matched to the seventh “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on October 23, 2024.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.