Shortly before 7 p.m. on December 23, 2024, five members of aid security personnel, 34-year-old Hassan Abdel Rahim Hassan Abu Karim, 22-year-old Salman Ahmed Salman Abu Gharaba, 23-year-old Ibrahim Mamdouh Ibrahim Shaheen, 32-year-old Muhammad Hussein Sayed Abu Darwish, along with his brother, 40-year-old Sayed Hussein Al-Sayed Abu Darwish, (a militant) were killed, and a number of civilians were injured in an alleged Israeli attack on the aid delivery vehicle on Salah al-Din Street, near the al-Awda factory east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
At 8:01 p.m., Safa news reported four civilians killed “as a result of the bombing of aid security personnel” in Deir al-Balah city. Twitter/X users @F24online, @ShehabAgency and @Snd_pal corroborated this information, mentioning injuries. @F24online reported the incident at 6:59 p.m., while @Snd_pal – at 7:08 p.m.
@madfajy posted a video on X/Twitter showing a blazing fire with a truck driving away and people running around the fire. The video is dark, indicating the evening time of the incident. The caption reads “martyrs and wounded in the targeting of aid workers on Salah al-Din Street in Gaza.”
Paltoday.ps reported that ambulances were successful in transporting the deceased and several wounded to al-Aqsa Hospital after the strike, where they were able to identify the four killed.
Initially, most of the sources reported four casualties, but later one of the injured men, Ibrahim Mamdouh Ibrahim Shaheen, succumbed to his injuries, raising the death toll to five.
Yasser Youssef posted on Facebook the list of the victims with the indication of their names and ages: Hassan Abdel Rahim Hassan Abu Bu Karim, 33 years old; Salman Ahmed Salman Abu Ghraba, 22 years old; Sayed Hussein al-Sayed Darwish, 33 years old; Mohammed Hussein al-Sayed Darwish, 28 years old; Ibrahim Mamdouh Ibrahim Shaheen, 24 years old.
Where possible, the ages of victims have been cross-checked against the lists of fatalities shared online by Shireen Monitor, an organization that has a list of “martyrs” of Israeli forces from 2023 onwards. Where the ages were different, both of them were mentioned in the assessment.
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, Salman Abu Gharaba was matched to the eighth “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on March 24, 2025.
Many people took to social media to mourn the loss of the five men.
In one photo, 34-year-old Hassan Abdel Rahim Hassan Abu Karim (33 years old as per local sources) is shown in a gray suit jacket, white button-down, and a black tie and trousers. His short black hair is styled and he has a short beard and mustache. On Facebook, Marwan Abu Kareem, Ibrahim Abu Karim, Abdullah Abu Hussein, Umm Rital, and Adham Dweedar mourned the loss of Hassan. Adham wrote: “Oh God, every day we lose a loved one, a colleague, a neighbor, or a friend. The pain of separation tears our hearts apart. Our dear beloved Hassan Abu Karim ascends the path of pride and dignity.” Ibrahim Abu Karim lamented the death of his “ dear, compassionate brother.”
In another photo, 32-year-old Muhammad Hussein Al-Sayed Abu Darwish (28 years old as per local sources) is shown standing atop a hill, wearing a black jacket and gray pants with white sneakers. He has his hands in his pockets, and he is smiling, posing in front of a town far in the distance.
40-year-old Sayed Hussein Sayed Abu Darwish is shown in a photo, wearing a checkered green and white button-down with orange breast pockets. He has short black hair and a trimmed beard. In the photo, he is smiling, facing the sun.
When Airwars first published this incident, no open sources were found to suggest that Sayed Hussein Sayed Abu Darwish was a militant. As such, Sayed Hussein Sayed Abu Darwish was recorded as a civilian. This was in line with Airwars’ methodology which is employed across all conflicts we document, and informed by international standards regarding the ‘presumption of civilian status'. Specifically, as outlined by the International Committee of the Red Cross, civilian status is assumed until evidence is identified to the contrary.
On September 8, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)'s armed wing published a tribute to Sayed Hussein Sayed Abu Darwish, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Sayed Hussein Sayed Abu Darwish's status from civilian to militant and changed the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident from five to four.
Waseem Darwish mourned the loss of his cousins, brothers Muhammad and Hussein, writing: “By God, the eyes shed tears, the heart grieves, and we are truly saddened by your departure. The martyrdom of my #cousins, Sayed Darwish, Mohamed Darwish.” Umm Sa’il wrote that they were sons of Salafi Abu Mustafa, while Umm Abdullah Darwish noted that they were her sister’s sons.
Abu Darwish clan also honoured the memory of two young men on Facebook, writing: “The wound still bleeds and our clan continues to offer martyr after martyr. Today we bid farewell to a group of our clan’s young men (Martyrs of providing aid in the Central Governorate), Muhammad Hussein Al-Sayyid Darwish, Sayyid Hussein Al-Sayyid Darwish.”
Facebook account “Here is the page for stores” wrote that Sayed Darwish was “the kind-hearted moon from Al-Maghazi camp” and one of “aid workers.”
A photo of 23-year-old Ibrahim Mamdouh Ibrahim Shaheen (24 years old as per local source), who reportedly succumbed to his injuries after the attack, shows a young man with short black hair and a short beard smiling for a selfie, wearing a black shirt, in front of a plain background. Abdul Salam Qamoum earlier posted on Facebook, calling to pray for the recovery of Ibrahim, who was in intensive care.
One photo shared shows 22-year-old Salman Ahmed Salman Abu Ghraba, a young man with styled black hair and a black beard, wearing a blue patterned button-down with short sleeves. He is wearing a silver watch on his left wrist and navy pants. He is smiling in the photo.
Basant Hassan mourned the death of Salman on Facebook, writing, “My sister’s husband, the honorable young man Salman Abu Ghraib, was martyred. May God give you patience to bear his loss, Nada.” The widow of Salman, Nada, expressed her grief in a heartfelt Facebook post, mourning the loss of her young husband: “You are the great blessing that my heart has lost. You were the best lover, the best fiancé, and the best husband. Our journey took two years to two months. I testify that they were the most beautiful days and hours of my life. But we did not complete our journey because God chose you. He chose you as a martyr. “ She added an image of the smiling Salman, wearing a grey three-piece suit and a bow tie.
Waed M Ana on Facebook also mourned the death of Salman, her aunt’s husband, “the honorable young man” as she called him. Anwar Abdo Abu Dalal also bemoaned his death, noting that Salman was married during the war and was killed in it. “You have pained our hearts with your departure, my beloved. I bear witness to God that he was well-mannered, polite, loyal, and helpful,” he wrote.
@qudsn posted an emotional photo captioned “the last hug”, showing a young man embracing his brother, who was killed in the strike. The pair is lying on the ground as the cries of the mourning brother fill the crowded room. @TRTArabi posted a video showing the same emotional scene.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the shelling to the Israeli military.
The sources conflicted on the nature of the attack, some referring to it as “shelling”, while others mentioned an “airstrike.”