At least thirteen civilians and one militant were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a family home in the early hours of March 18th, 2025. The strike was among those that effectively ended the ceasefire agreement between the Israeli military and Hamas, and which had been in place since January.
Three women and nine children were reported killed alongside Hamas militant Ismail al-Anqah in Jabalia Al-Balad in the northern Gaza Strip at approximately 2:00 AM.
Among the civilians reported killed in the incident was 26-year-old Yahya Ahmed Khalil al-Anqah (Abu Al-Moatasem), who was killed alongside his wife, 25-year-old Ayat Ibrahim Khalil al-Anqah, and their two daughters, five-year-old Janan Yahya Ahmed al-Anqah, and three-year-old Sham Yahya Ahmed al-Anqah.
The suspected target of the attack, 38-year-old Ismail Ahmed Khalil al-Anqah (Yahya’s brother), was killed alongside his first wife, 38-year-old Halima Yousef Suleiman Halawa, and second wife Abeer Fayez Abdul Rahman al-Anqah, as well as their children: their nine-year-old son Ahmed Ismail Ahmed al-Anqah, and six daughters: 16-year-old Shaima Ismail Ahmed al-Anqah, 14-year-old Raghad Ismail Ahmed al-Anqah, 13-year-old Rimas Ismail Ahmed al-Anqah, six-year-old Baraa Ismail Ahmed al-Anqah, 9-year-old Rawan Ismail Ahmed al-Anqah, and six-year-old Razan Ismail Ahmed al-Anqah.
Multiple sources, including Salah [al-Anqah], the brother of Ayat al-Anqah, reported the death of “15 members of our family” while other sources mentioned 14 killed. Only one source, Mahmoud Jarwan on Facebook, mentions “wounded” in the bombing of the home, but did not provide a toll.
Bilal Halawa, the brother of Halima Yousef Suleiman Halawa (referred to as Umm Ahmed al-Anqah), shared on Facebook that his sister and her family were killed after their house was bombed at around 2 AM. He also added a prayer of condolence for his relatives.
Darb Alshuhda, a friend of Yahya al-Anqah, shared a picture of Yahya and his daughter Janan. Yahya was a young man with short black hair and a light beard.
Ameer Sultan, a journalist, shared a video showing the body of one of the victims being recovered from an area close to their decimated house.
In a Facebook post, Darb Alshuhada highlighted that the deceased, Ismail Ahmed Khalil al-Anqah, was a prominent leader of the al-Qassam Brigades, one of the largest militia groups operating in the Gaza Strip – the military wing of Hamas. They also shared a picture of Ismail, who was a young man with short black hair and a beard. Ismail can be seen holding two of his children, standing in front of the Hamas flag.
Where possible, 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 eight 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 eighth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on March 24, 2025. Additional names were matched and ages found in Shireen Monitor, an organisation which has a list of “Martyrs of Palestine” from 2023 onward.
Where sources identified belligerents, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.