On November 13, 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike struck a residential area near the Jabalia Services Club in Jabalia Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Reports indicated that the strikes destroyed a residential block consisting of approximately twelve houses belonging to several families, including the Al-Barai, Qaffa, Azzam, and Abu Zaiter families. Early reports described large numbers of casualties, and later updates consistently reported that at least 31 people were killed and nine others injured in the attack.
Initial reporting appeared on X from the account @ShehabAgency, which reported that Israeli aircraft had "targeted" a house near the Jabalia Services Club and that a large number of casualties had been reported, most of them women and children. Later updates from the same account reported that twelve homes were destroyed, 31 people were killed, and nine others were injured. Similar updates were widely circulated by other X accounts including @atefmoq, @omar_jumaa0, @JanabiRasha, @Ipal1251Pm, @NewpressPs, @Ertikaznews, and @Safwan_cha3ar, which repeated the same figures while identifying the targeted area as Block 1 near the Jabalia Services Club.
Additional posts on X, including those by @YouthGoDigital and @Qudsn_Brk, reported that the strike had hit homes belonging to the Qaffa and Al-Barai families and caused dozens of injuries. Several posts described the incident as the destruction of an entire residential square or block. Images accompanying these posts showed extensive structural damage, including collapsed houses, debris covering streets, and rescue teams searching through the remains of buildings.
Video footage circulated on social media and reported by TRT Arabic showed widespread destruction across the residential block, which they declared had occurred “without a prior warning.” The footage showed multiple buildings flattened or severely damaged, with rescue workers and residents searching through rubble for survivors. Ambulances and Palestinian Civil Defense teams were visible at the scene transporting casualties and continuing search operations. Some reports stated that rescue efforts were ongoing and that victims were still believed to be under the rubble at the time of filming.
On Facebook, several posts provided further confirmation of the identities of victims. Multiple users confirmed the deaths of 29-year-old Hassan Zuaiter and 31-year-old Ibrahim Qasia, both described as players for the Palestinian national volleyball team and members of al-Sadaka Club. Posts by the Palestinian Volleyball Federation and other users also confirmed their deaths, mourning the loss of their “brightest stars,” identifying Zuaiter as a volleyball player and physical education teacher and Qasia as the Captain of the national beach volleyball team.
Akram Naim, speaking to Hassan’s teaching career, wrote that his “loyalty, love, reputation and good conduct” were apparent in his student’s conduct.
Fareed Hassan included a memorial for Hassan, his “beloved Abu Salma.” Included with the message was a photograph of Hassan with an infant, likely his daughter, Salma.
Hani Abu Mustafa included photographs of both Hassan and Ibrahim in volleyball uniforms, one in which they hold a trophy aloft. To Mohammad Mansour, Ibrahim had been “Palestine’s volleyball hero” and Dawoud Abo Sultan wrote that “last year, he won the bronze medal for the team in the West Asian Championship and was the top scorer in the entire tournament.”
With their deaths Abdulrahman Tafesh was bereft: “you guys really broke my heart.”
While Chababi Abderabbinnabi used the term “mujahid” in regards to Ibrahim, nothing else in his post suggested Ibrahim had involvement in militancy, writing only that Ibrahim was a “son of Gaza City and player [on] the Palestinian volleyball team.”
Additional Facebook posts from relatives and community members identified members of the Al-Barai family among those killed. A post by Asmaa Nasser reported that her 47-year-old uncle Nabil al-Barai had been killed together with his wife Arwa al-Maghari and their children, 21-year-old Amir Nabil al-Barai, Shahad Nabil al-Barai, 16-year-old Shams Nabil al-Barai, Muhammad Nabil al-Barai, and Elias Nabil al-Barai. The same post also identified other relatives killed in the strike, including 39-year-old Ramez Naji al-Barai and his 38-year-old brother Thaer Naji al-Barai, as well as 35-year-old Basma Suwailem. Additional posts from relatives and acquaintances repeated these names while sharing condolence messages and photographs, with people asking that “God have mercy on them, forgive them, and grant them a place in His spacious gardens.” Razan Mughari remembered Arwa al-Maghair, as a “dear, caring aunt, the kindest heart in the world.”
Where possible, 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, most names were matched to the seventh “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on October 23, 2024.
Mohammed Abdullah Sahmoud referred to Ramez Naji al-Barai as a “Qassam commander.” As such, he has not been counted in the civilian casualty toll.
Across the sources, the most frequently reported casualty toll was 31 people killed and at least nine injured. Early reports sometimes referred more broadly to “more than thirty” fatalities or “dozens” of injured persons while search and rescue operations were still underway.
Where belligerents were identified, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.