On the morning of Sunday, 5th November 2023 four men from the Radwan family – one of whom may have been a child – were reportedly killed and three others moderately injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Radwan family home in the al-Zinah area of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis.
Sources, including the Palestinian Press Agency (SAFA), reported that four people had been killed in the incident, whilst numerous sources, including friends and family members, named them to be four male members of the Radwan family.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Press Agency (SAFA), alongside other sources, reported that three unidentified individuals had been moderately injured in the strike.
Those identified to have been killed in the incident were named as Murad Muhammad Radwan, who was aged between 34 and 41, Rateb Raafat Radwan, who was 27 or 28 years old, 17 or 18-year-old Radwan Jamal Radwan, and his 22-year-old brother Abdul Rahman Jamal Radwan. Age ranges have been provided where ages identified from the MoH list differ from those indicated by social media sources.
According to the Palestinian Press Agency (SAFA), among other sources, those killed and wounded in the incident were transported to the Nasser hospital.
An image posted on the Bani Suhaila Facebook page, and also shared by others, shows four bodies – identified as the members of the Radwan family killed in the incident – lying under white shrouds, whilst a group of people stand to perform funeral prayers over them.
Numerous friends and family members mourned those killed on social media. Among them, Noor Aldeen Radwan wrote on Facebook, “May God have mercy on you, Rateb [Rateb Raafat Radwan]. I don’t know what to write about you. You used to call me Abu Qatada as a joke. You were the only one who called me that. Our memories are not for a day or two, but a million situations. We never quarreled or had problems. Not for a single day. There was no one kinder than your heart. My brother’s honor. He told me on Thursday that he was still asking about you. Forgive me, Rateb. I’m the one who was supposed to ask about you, but I understood your situation and I prayed for God to protect you. From the first time you chose your path, every time I saw you I would say, Rateb is a martyr walking on earth, and God chose you because you were honest with Him. May God have mercy on you, my love. You, Abdul Rahman [Abdul Rahman Jamal Radwan], Radwan [Radwan Jamal Radwan], and Murad [Murad Muhammad Radwan]. By God, there is no one with your morals or like you. You are blessed. You are blessed, God willing, in the gardens of eternity with the rest of the young men of the family.”
User Samer, also writing on Facebook, mourned Rateb Raafat Radwan, announcing that “My friend and brother, the martyr Rateb Radwan, has passed away. May God have mercy on you.”
An image of Rateb shared by multiple users shows him in a cyan-coloured shirt.
Abdullah Radwan expressed his grief at the loss of his brothers Abdul Rahman Jamal Radwan and Radwan Jamal Radwan in a Facebook post. He wrote, “You broke my back, my beloved ones, I swear. May God have mercy on you and accept you, my soul, you are. Oh God, I do not object, but the loss breaks the heart, oh God, I wish I was the one who died, not you, my life, sleep in peace, my beloved ones… Abdulrahman [Abdul Rahman Jamal Radwan], by God, this is not my brother, by God, this is my son, whom you did not give birth to, oh God, my son, my friend, my support, and the keeper of my secrets, oh God, he was a light Home and I love life and I love to laugh and have fun with us, oh God, he used to get tired at work, oh God, please take care of him and relax, he is our light, by God, come back my love, I want to take you on a summer trip, as you want, come, by God, I will do whatever you want, but come back, please, my brother, don’t leave me alone with my wings broken, please, my love, come every time you talk to me, you tell me to get ready and get a house ready because I want to come to you, come my love, by God, I will bring you to me and I will continue to spend on you, my love, until the end of life, but come, I told you as soon as I get work, by God, I will make you sit and you will stay sitting, I don’t want to see you get tired or work, and I want you to get the license, my love, you told me to send me your new phone, the s23 ultra, and I told you when the war is over, I will send it to you, why did you go, my brother, and not wait for you, I want to send it to you, by God, come my love, I want to get you the hat you wanted, the one you told me to wear, you told me when you get work, by God, just send me money and I will continue to sit. {…}Why did you empty the house on my mother? Come back, my loves. Don’t leave my mother like this alone. My mother is hanging on to you. My soul, come on, let’s tease her and my father and keep them company and laugh with them. Bring laughter back to the house. Don’t leave the house like this, without a soul. Please come back… Oh God, give me patience to bear their separation. By God, my heart is torn apart for them…”
Abdullah shared two photographs of the brothers: a smiling Abdul Rahman in a yellow shirt, and a barefoot Radwan.
Mohammad Radwan also said goodbye to “beloved” Abdul Rahman Jamal Radwan, whom he considered a “brother [and] friend”: “Goodbye childhood friend. Abdul Rahman Radwan.”
In two photographs shared by Mohammad Radwan, Abdul Rahman is pictured in athletic clothing, standing near the sea.
In a second post, Abdullah Radwan also mourned the loss of Murad Muhammad Radwan and Rateb Muhammad Radwan, who were his cousins.
Iyad Radwan described the four family members killed as “my beloved ones.”
Meanwhile, Abu Muhammad Radwan mourned Murad Muhammad Radwan and the other members of the Radwan family, who were his cousins, in a further Facebook post. He wrote, “We belong to God and to Him we shall return. My brother Murad Muhammad Radwan is a martyr, God willing, and my cousins are martyrs. O Lord, make them steadfast when questioned.”
Abu Mohammad Radwan shared a photograph of Murad; a filter superimposed stars over his image.
The Radwan family has been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023, the MoH has released nine 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, names are matched to the second “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on January 7th, 2024.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the airstrike to Israeli forces.
The strike occurred prior to 11:26 in the morning.