At dawn on Sunday, October 29th, 2023, at least 11 identified civilians, including two women and six children, were reportedly killed and multiple civilians were reportedly injured as a result of an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Tammos family residence on al-Majadala Street, west of the city of Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip. Most of those killed were members of the Tammos family.
72-year-old Khalil Mustafa Muhammad Tammos was killed with his 70-year-old wife, Fayza Abdel Qader Fares, and their 46-year-old son, Wael Khalil Tammos. Wael Khalil Tammos’s three sons, 18-year-old Khalil Wael Tammos, 14-year-old Muhammad Wael Tammos, and 12-year-old Hamza Wael Tammos were also reported dead. Wael’s daughter, Zeina Wael Tammos, was reported to be injured.
Friends took to social media to share their condolences. 72-year-old Khalil was fondly remembered by Facebook user Zahra Abunamoos as a “Hajj,” indicating that he may have completed the pilgrimage to Mecca. Another user, Dr. Muhammad al-Zinati Abu Ahmed remembered his last moments with Khalil, describing him as a “good man”: “Yesterday, before sunset, we were chatting, and I did not know that these were your last moments in this life.” The bombardment occurred, Dr. Muhammad alleged, at the “dawn call to prayer.” He shared multiple family photographs and wished “healing” for those injured.
Hamza M. Fares, the brother of the injured Enas, mentioned that his nephews, Khalil, Muhammad, and Hamza were all “memorizer[s] of the Book of God.” He asked that his sister be granted “recovery and patience.” Hamada Jaber Abu Youssef also remembered the children’s dedication to their religion: “Last summer, they were competing over who could memorize the Qur’an the fastest and who would not miss the dawn prayer.”
Hamza, committed to being the first and playing tricks on his siblings would “set the alarm for half an hour before dawn, and when he woke up, he would turn off [his siblings’] alarms, Muhammad and Khalil, so that he would go and pray alone and miss his [brothers’] day of memorization and dawn prayer.”
Facebook user Tareq Zaqout wrote his aunt Fayza was “the professor,” and remembered her “beloved” son Wael.
An injured Mustafa Khalil Tammos lost his wife and children in the bombardment. His 29-year-old wife, Samar Manar Abdel Qader Hegazy, was killed along with their two sons: nine-year-old Khalil Mustafa Khalil Tammos, and one-year-old Mohammed Mustafa Khalil Tammos, and two daughters: eight-year-old Jana Mustafa Khalil Tammos and five-year-old Siwar Mustafa Khalil Tammos.
Enas Muhammad Hussein Fares was also reported injured.
Twitter/X user @Smoaltae reported that there were “more than 20 injuries.” Al Jazeera Mubasher reported that “dozens” had been injured. No other identification has been made public.
Multiple images shared across social media documented the devastation wrought by the bombardment. Shehab Agency attached photos of volunteers searching through the rubble, including one where a young boy–covered in blood and dust–was being rescued. A video shared by the Palestinian Civil Defence corroborated this, showing the process of uncovering the boy from beneath concrete.
Another image shared by the Shehab Agency shows another young boy receiving medical care. His nose is bloodied, and he is lying on a blood-stained stretcher.
The family home was reportedly “levelled to the ground.”
Where sources mentioned a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.
Where possible, names have been reconciled with published Palestinian Ministry of Health lists with thanks to journalist Alexandre Horn from CheckNews for identifying relevant sources, and Data Tech for Palestine for centralising the datasets.