At dawn on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the Abu Riyash family home in the al-Janina neighborhood, Saddam street, east of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. At least 15 members of the family were killed and at least two others were injured.
Family member Abu Mauza bid farewell to the 15 members of his family killed in the bombing of his aunt’s home, while Fayez Kamel put the death toll at “more than 15 martyrs” in mentioning that on March 19th, his uncle’s body had finally been removed from the rubble to rest with his family members. Additional sources such as @qudsfeed_brk reported “martyrs and wounded” from the attack but didn’t specify tolls.
59-year-old doctor Majida Muhammad Abdullah Abu Riyash was killed alongside her husband, 59-year old Khaled Muhammad Salama Abu Riyash (Abu Muhammad), their daughter, 29-year old teacher Khaloud Khaled Muhammad Abu Riyash (Umm Ibrahim), Khaloud’s daughter, 6-year old Hour Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Riyash and her two sons, 7-year old Ibrahim Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Riyash and 4-year-old Muhannad Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Riyash.
Amjad Nahij was among those to announce the death of the family, bidding farewell in particular to her mother-in-law Dr. Majida, whom she described as an “angel of mercy.”
Eslam Ahmad shared a picture of Majida showing a beautiful and smiling woman, and she can be seen with the doctor’s white coat and a black hijab while holding a poster with a pink and white slogan – “Mental Health and Wellbeing for All – A Global Priority” – in her hands. In another picture she was wearing a blank hijab with colourful floral patterns. She was described by many as a wise and dedicated primary care worker who attended to every woman and patient who visited the UNRWA clinic in Al-Shabura camp without exception. According to Muna Ahmad, when the house was bombed, Majda was thrown by the blast and reportedly entered a nearby mosque through a window, where her body was later found lying on the carpet.
Amal Mustafa mourned the death of her colleague and friend, Majida (Umm Muhammad Rayash), describing her as compassionate toward both patients and colleagues. She recalled Majida’s wish to retire and devote herself to visiting mosques and attending religious courses. The post conveyed shock and grief at her death and included prayers for patience for her children.
Many also wrote lovely messages to bid farewell to Khaloud and her children. Khaloud was remembered by Talaat Barhoum as a teacher who had organised Qur’an memorisation sessions for girls at Al-Ard Al-Tayyiba camp in Mawasi, Khan Younis, since September 2024. The post highlighted that her work began on a voluntary basis and portrayed her as instrumental in the success of the centre. Photographs shared online show Khaloud surrounded by young girls while teaching in the tent. Another image depicted her three children: Hour Muhammad seated cross-legged with her hands together, wearing an orange sweater with a white collar, jeans, and flat shoes; the youngest son, Muhannad Muhammad, smiling and wearing a light blue and navy sweater with black trousers; and Ibrahim Muhammad seated beside them, wearing a blue hoodie with red and white detailing, black trousers, and orange shoes.
Relatives Naser Awdeh Abu Akar and Nadal Fareed Abu Akar also shared heartfelt messages mourning Majida and the other members of the family, expressing grief, condolences and prayers following their deaths.
The daughter-in-law of Majida and Khaled, 24-year old Nour Osama Abu Marzouq was killed alongside her sister, 22-year old Dina Osama Abu Marzouq and two brothers 19-year-old Mohammed Osama Abu Marzouq and 17-year-old Rifaat Osama Abu Marzouq. Sources including @SayfAlqudss reported that Yaqout Mahmoud Abu Riash, three-day-old daughter of Nour, survived the bombing and was injured based on an image showing the infant in a hospital being treated while Nour’s three-day-old daughter is mentioned as “killed” in multiple lists, including Yousef al-Nabulsi’s post. Therefore, Yaqout has been listed as injured until further confirmation is found.
A Facebook post from Mohamed Algzar named both Siham Abu Marzouq (Umm Shadi), mother of Nour and siblings, and her husband Osama Abu Marzouq as among those killed in the attack on March 18th. However, a nephew of Osama named Ahlam Mahmoud referred to Osama as having been previously killed and others specified he was killed during the “first days of the war”, and Osama’s name was found listed on the Palestinian Ministry of Health list 1 which included victims killed before October 26, 2023. Therefore, Osama has not been included in the list of victims for this incident. In addition, family members Hashem Abu Moumin and Abeer Mohmud offered a speedy recovery to Umm Shadi for “surviving” the attack. Therefore, Siham has been listed as injured until further information is found.
The lawyer Samar Mansi, offered condolences to her friend and companion Nour, the daughter of Majda and and Khaled, for the loss of her family. The message included prayers for mercy and patience for the surviving family members.
Ahlam Mahmoud, with deep sorrow, mourned his cousins, children of his late uncle, engineer Osama Abu Marzouq. He wrote: “we ask God to inspire us with patience”. The same did Nagham Abu Ghali expressing condolences to the family and stating that they would join their father Osama in paradise.
Many people also shared pictures of the two brothers Mohammed and Rifaat. They were two young boys with friendly expressions. Mohammed, the older sibling, was taller and slimmer, in one photo, he is shown standing with his arms crossed, wearing a black shirt with white and blue lettering. He had small eyes, thick hair, and a light mustache. The younger brother, Rifaat, also with small eyes and thick hair, is pictured making a peace sign with his hands, with the rubble of destroyed buildings visible behind him. Their pictures were accompanied by heartfelt messages and prayers. “The heart is truly saddened, the eyes shed tears, and we are truly grieved by your departure”, wrote Eng. Ahmed Marcelo to mourn Rifaat.
Quoting the civil defence, Talal Abu Husain wrote on Facebook that, after hours of continuous work, rescue crews were able to retrieve the body of Mohammed Osama Abu Marzouq from under the rubble. The following day, the body of Khaled Abu Riash was also recovered. According to Fayez Kamel, several others remained under the rubble at that time.
On 20 March, the bodies of a woman and a child were also reportedly recovered from beneath the rubble of the house, though their identities were not disclosed. Meanwhile, the bodies of Muhannad Muhammad and Khaloud Muhammad were brought to Nasser Hospital.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the eighth list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the first ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on March 25, 2025.
Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.