At approximately 4 PM on Monday, November 6, 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike struck the Sammour family home in the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, killing ten family members, including six children under the age of 13 and a woman, and injuring others, including a child.
48-year-old Ayman Marzouk Sammour was killed along with his two brothers, 47-year-old Iyad Marzouk Sammour and 38-year-old Ahmed Marzouk Sammour, Ayman’s wife, 35-year-old Mai Suleiman Sammour, and five of their children – 13-year-old Hadeel Ayman Marzouk Sammour, 10-year-old Nour El-Din Ayman Marzouk Sammour, 8-year-old Ghazal Ayman Marzouk Sammour, 5-year-old Farah Ayman Marzouk Sammour and Youssef Ayman Marzouk Sammour who was only a year old. Yassin Hassan Marzouk Sammour, who was 12 years old and likely a nephew of Ayman, Iyad, and Ahmed based on his name, was also killed in the bombing.
Shehab Agency reported the incident on X (formerly Twitter), initially stating that six “martyrs” had been killed. Shortly after, the same source shared a series of images showing the complete destruction of the house and dozens of neighbours searching through the rubble for survivors. Al Jazeera posted the same photos on its official Facebook account, highlighting that the house was turned “into a pile of rubble”.
Videos of the immediate aftermath circulated online, showing the desperate effort to save the lives of survivors. In one of the videos, an ambulance can be seen rapidly arriving at the hospital, as a group of people rush an injured child inside. The footage then cuts to a man holding the lifeless body of a girl. The man, who is wearing a Red Crescent uniform, shows the body to witnesses outside the hospital while crying: “This child is Israel’s target!” The footage finally shows a severely injured man being carried on a stretcher into the building.
In a different video, a man hammers the rubble of the destroyed house, while several neighbours and members of the Civil Defence try to reach someone underneath.
Several mourning posts from family members of the deceased allowed Airwars to identify the names of victims and finally set the death toll to ten.
Facebook user Mufida Husam Alabadlah posted a Facebook message honouring her deceased relatives, along with photos of most of the victims.
An older photo of Nour Ayman Sammour, appearing to be around three years old at the time, contrasts with a more recent one, where he is seen proudly wearing a brown suit and bowtie. In another photo, seemingly taken around the same time, he sits on a patio, smiling at the camera alongside another boy who appears to be about the same age.
Several photos capture Farah Ayman Sammour smiling sweetly at the camera, and a video shows her happily running around while someone holds her hand and records with the other. In another picture, her teenage sister Hadeel Ayman Sammour proudly holds a diploma.
Yassin Hassan Sammour is seen in a photo wearing sunglasses, a combined t-shirt and jersey, and a smartwatch. His mother, Suhad Abu Raida, also honoured her son with a picture of him holding what appears to be his graduation diploma, and asked for patience to “bear the separation from my beloved, the apple of my eye, and my precious life.” Yassin’s father, Hassan Sammour, a sibling of Ayman, Iyad, and Ahmed, posted a video showing the same photograph, with a religious song playing in the background. Over the photo, a text reads: “May Allah accept you, Yassin. Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.”
User Umm Aboud Khater shared a farewell message for Mai Ismail Sammour, whom she met at school, describing her as “kind, affectionate and calm.” Her Facebook post featured a photo of the youngest victim of the strike, the “polite child” Yousef Ayman Sammour. A bright, green tree stands behind him. According to Said Harfouchi, who also shared this photo, he was “pulled out from under the rubble to join his parents and siblings”.
A tweet from @ShehabAgency described the location of the Sammour family home as being opposite Dar Al Salam Hospital in Bani Suhalia.
All names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023 the MoH has released six 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’ list, which was released on January 7th, 2024.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.