On Tuesday, October 31st, 2023, an Israeli airstrike allegedly hit the Abu Daf family house in the al-Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City, killing five of the family's members, including two children. A sixth member of the family was killed and has been recorded as a militant.
Magdy Hussein Muhammad Abu Daf (a militant), 34, was killed along with his sons, 14-year-old Magdy Hussein Muhammad Abu Daf and Haroun Magdy Hussein Abu Daf, who was only nine.
Three of Magdy Hussein’s cousins were also killed in the alleged strike. They were identified as 33-year-old Bayan Tayseer Muhammad Abu Daf, 29-year-old Ezz El-Din Musa Deeb Abu Daf, and Mahmoud Harbi Hassan, whose age Airwars was not able to verify.
Several sources, including Moaab, Jordan TV, and the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Voice radio station reported the incident, mentioning that a “citizen” and his son had been killed. Facebook user Atef Alnajjar posted that there were also reports of a “number” of injuries. However, the extent of the damage caused by the alleged attack became known only through social media posts made by the victims’ relatives, who shared lists of their lost loved ones.
“Today I lost a piece of my heart”, wrote Alaa Abu Daf in a Facebook post. “My brother Magdy, his children, my cousin, and my aunt’s children.” Ashraf Abuzour announced the “martyrdom” of his maternal uncles, while Mohammad Taha sent “sincere condolences” to “all our loved ones in the Abu Daf family.”
Hamed Jawad Mahdi honoured his cousins by posting recent pictures of them, which were also shared by other relatives on their social media accounts. In one, Ahmed Magdy smiles at the camera, standing proudly in front of a white and blue wall, wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and jeans. On the opposite side, his younger brother Haroun Magdy mirrors the scene, looking at the camera with a gentle expression. The post also included selfies of their father Magdy Hussein, who is wearing a dark blue shirt, and his cousin Bayan Tayseer, wearing the Spanish Football National Team’s shirt, a calm look on his face.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
Of the six victims, five have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health lists of fatalities in Gaza.
Note on militancy
When Airwars first published this incident, no open sources were found to suggest that Magdy Hussein Muhammad Abu Daf was a militant. As such, Magdy Hussein 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 October 10, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Hamas' armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a tribute to Amr Hussein, Magdy's brother, remembering Amr as a field commander. The tribute included video, which showed Magdy, identified as a "martyred fighter", standing alongside his brother. such, Airwars updated Magdy Hussein's status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from six to five.