On the morning of March 18, 2025, an alleged Israeli airstrike reportedly struck the home of the Khader family in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. As a result, three members of the family, including an UNRWA school teacher, were killed, and two sons were reportedly injured. The family’s house was completely destroyed.
The victims were identified as 57-year-old Hani Ali Khader (Abo Ali), his wife Houyda Khader (Umm Ali), and their daughter, 30-year-old Hadeel Hani Khader. Two of their sons, Ali Hani Khader and Ameer Hani Khader, were wounded in the strike, with multiple posts describing one of them as critically injured.
Hani Khader was widely described as a respected teacher working at UNRWA’s al-Khansa Mixed Preparatory School B. In a tribute, Facebook user Hani Mansour remembered him as “our neighbour, the good teacher who works in the UNRWA schools,” noting that he, his wife and daughter were killed and his son was seriously injured.
Family, neighbours, and friends posted emotional tributes throughout the day. Facebook users Rimel Hr and Nael Jundi both confirmed the deaths of Hani, his wife, and daughter. Abo Al Ameer al Ameer expressed his sorrow to the extended Khader family and offered condolences to their relative Muhammad Khader. Belal Abo Shaheen mourned his cousin Hani and remembered him as a man of strong character.
Abed al Mon’am Abas, who identified Hani as his cousin, confirmed the family died “as a result of the bombing that targeted his house in Rafah.” User Fuad Mughari described Hani as a “caring father,” and mourned the loss of the mother of Ali and Ameer and their “protected sister.” A particularly moving moment was captured in a video shared by Hussin_Khries, showing Ameer Hani Khader bidding farewell to his family at the site of the destroyed home in Rafah. He was seen weeping over the rubble as the bodies of his parents and sister were prepared for burial.
The images of Hani shared on social media showed a middle-aged man with short, dark hair with some grey, a trimmed beard, and a gentle smile. He wore a dark polo shirt with stripes.
Anas Khader, Hani’s nephew, wrote that his “beloved, lighthearted uncle” and his “devout wife” were killed along with their daughter, and expressed hopes for the swift recovery of his cousins Ameer and Ali.
Many described Hadeel as a beloved daughter and friend. Facebook users Mohammad Hashem and Mohammad Is’ifan echoed this sentiment, reiterating the family’s role in the community and honouring their memory. According to her profile on the website Genocide in Gaza, she was 30 years old at the time of her death and was working at a school. Her profile contained her image of a young smiling woman wearing a black burqa and a black headscarf.
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, names are matched to the eighth “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on March 24, 2025.
All sources that identified a belligerent attributed the strike to Israeli forces.