At least 18 civilians, including seven children and four women, were reportedly killed by an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Jarghon family home in the Tabat Zarea area east of Rafah at dawn on 18 March, 2025.
72-year-old Eid Mansour Jarghon, was killed with his sons, 38-year-old Jihad Eid Jarghon and 41-year-old Mohammed Eid Jarghon, and daughter, 42-year-old Fidaa Eid Jarghon. Jihad’s wife, 31-year-old Zainab Ziad Jarghon, was killed, along with the couple’s two daughters, six-year-old Fairuz Jihad Jarghon and four-year-old Aylol Jihad Jarghon. Mohammed’s wife, 33-year-old Majdoleen Abu Luli (Jarghon) was also killed. Three of Eid Mansour’s grandchildren were also killed, likely Mohammed’s children: four-year-old Maryam Mohammed Jarghon, three-year-old Bisan Mohammed Jarghon and two-year-old Lian Mohammed Jarghon.
From another unit of the extended Jarghon family, six people were killed. 50-year-old Manar Suleiman Jarghon was killed with his sons, 23-year-old Firas Manar Jarghon, 19-year-old Shadi Manar Jarghon, 16-year-old Mohammed Manar Jarghon and eight-year-old Karam Manar Jarghon. His daughter, 22-year-old Sahar Manar Jarghon, was also killed.
One source, Fares m Eid, also reported the death of an eighteenth relative, Samer Jarghoun. This name was not listed elsewhere, and all other reports stated 17 killed. Samer’s death, Fares wrote, was a “great loss”, one that was “received with deep sadness and sorrow”.
Relatives and friends remembered those killed with “deep sadness”, remarking on the shock of their deaths. This was a “happy family”, Facebook source “Central Region Page” reported, that was now “erased from the civil registry”. The Jarghons existed, user “Voice of Tomorrow Radio” wrote, now only in “memories in the hearts of those who loved them”.
Facebook user Ismail Jarghon Abu Muhammad wrote that his “heart [was] filled with pain and sadness” over the death of Eid and his family. Facebook user A. Ezz El-Din Imad Abu Qurshin remembered Mohammed Eid Jarghon as “one of the most charitable and smiling people”. He was, the source emphasised, “a lighthearted person with a kind and beautiful soul”. He shared a photograph of Mohammed, bearded and wearing a white shirt. Abdelrahman Abunar had similar memories: “We knew you as nothing but a kind and well-mannered person”.
Remembering Majdoleen, Facebook user Al’aa Y. Rayyan wrote that though the two did not often see each other, Majdoleen was “always in [her] heart”.
@MohammedAbuAmr7, a classmate of engineering student Firas Jarghoun, reflected on the suddenness of Firas’ death: he “was asking about a form for his graduation project yesterday”. That he had been killed, along with other friends and neighbours, Mohammed wrote, made his “heart and soul melt”. Yaseen Yousef Al-Husban wrote that though Firas had been killed, his friends would carry his memory and hopes for him: “You departed as a martyr, but your dream remains and will continue with the determination of your colleagues to the eternal gardens”. It is possible Firas was soon to be married: Facebook user Wedad Abudayya wrote that with his death she would “wear the white dress in heaven”.
Also a student, Sahar was remembered as “virtuous and wise”. In photographs attached to a memorial post, she can be seen in a lab coat.
Manar Jarghoun was employed at the Rafah Municipality, and remembered by his colleagues. A “loyal” and dutiful worker who aimed to “diligently […] serve [the] city and its people”, Manar was an “example of dedication and devotion”. Attached to the memorial post was a photograph of Manar, sporting a brown polo. Mohammad Abu Qusay, a friend who thought of Manar as a “brother” attached a photograph of Manar with a young boy, likely one of his sons. Subsequent photographs of the children were attached.
Mosab Mohamed Jarghun shared a photograph of a man and his two daughters: Jihad, Fairuz and Aylol, the three are smiling. Both the girls are wearing matching outfits, large flowered headbands on their heads. Eyad Sobhi, sending condolences, remembered Jihad as “virtuous”. Nidaa Um Albaraa remembered her “friend of more than 15 years”, Zainab – or “Zizi” as friends called her – as a “a companion through the bitter and sweet times”. The two friends were supposed to meet, but, as Nidaa remembered, “you left before I saw you”. Lamis Ziad, Zainab’s sister, was distraught: “My dear sister, I swear I can’t believe this news”. As soon as Lamis woke up “to the sound of the bombing” she “started looking for someone with an internet connection to check for news about Rafah”. Her intention was clear: “Just find me Zizi… Call Zizi…”. In life, the sisters had been “linked together in everything”. Now, Lamis wrote, “no one comes to mind but you”. Her death had “shattered” her.
@basil_kh_2016_ remembered Zainab Jarghoun as a “colleague and member of the SYFS Youth Councils”, asking that “God have mercy on her soul”. A photograph of the family shared by Elham Jarghon shows Jihad and Zainab smiling with their daughters at a birthday party for the girls. Lit by the candles on the cake, the girls are wearing matching party dresses; a “3” and “5” are visible behind them, as are photographs of the girls as infants. It was likely their last birthday.
Photographs and video shared of the Jarghon remains underscored the loss: body bags in place of these “virtuous”, “kind” and “dedicated” people. Photographs shared of them in life show vibrancy: large smiles, peace signs, selfies with parents, celebrations.
Facebook user Zyoud Ashour expressed “sincere condolences” to the family but especially to “Commander Ziad Jarghon” for the deaths of his “daughter [Zainab], her husband, and her sons”. While it is possible that the term ‘commander’ here indicates an association with an armed group, this phrase is also often used to suggest deference to an individual with more of a leadership role in a family or community. He was also referenced as a “member of the leadership of the central Khan Yunis region” by Nawal Yehia Ferwana. With this ambiguity, Airwars has categorised Ziad as a civilian until further information comes to light.
Journalist Mohammed Nabil Abu Armana, in a video showing volunteers taking bodies from under rubble, reported that the strike took place at Street 18 in the Al Janina neighbourhood, rather than in the Tabat Zarea area.
A funeral for the family was held in absentia at the mosque of the University of Brawijaya, in Indonesia.
Where possible, names have been reconciled with the eights Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities released on March 24, 2025, which related to those killed between October 7, 2023 and March 23, 2025.