During the early hours of Sunday, 25th May 2025 six members of the Abu Warda his family and three other civilians were killed by an alleged Israeli military airstrike that struck the Abu Warda home in the Al-Nazla area in Jabalia camp, North Gaza. Four displaced children from the neighbouring house were also reportedly killed, but their identities are not known at the time of writing.
A seventh member of the Abu Warda family, 33-year-old Hassan Majdi Abu Warda, was also killed. Hassan was a journalist and director of the Barq news agency, and was also identified as a fighter by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). As such, he has been recorded as a militant.
On Twitter/X, @SPlusPal reported the death of the journalist at 7:47 a.m. The Palestinian Journalist Protection Center (PJPC) and multiple local news sources also reported the killing of Abu Warda. They reported that Hassan was the director of the social media-based Barq Gaza news agency and used a photograph that depicted Hassan as a man dressed in a press jacket and helmet holding two cameras. These sources also reported that “several members” or “a number” of Hassan’s family had been killed in the strike.
On August 5, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with PIJ's armed wing published a tribute to Hassan Majdi Abu Warda, identifying him as a fighter. As such, he has been recorded as a militant.
On Facebook, Hassan’s brother, Mohamed Abu Warda, identified the deceased family members as his father, Majdi Ibrahim Abu Warda; his mother, Fatima Abu Warda; his younger brother, Ibrahim Majdi Abu Warda; and his cousins, 19-year-old woman Enas Luay Freija and 13-year-old boy Hamza Luay Freija. Before naming his family members, Mohamed said, “I bring you the news of the martyrdom of my family, my comfort, and my support.” He also said that the attack happened on the Sunday night.
Other family and friends also mourned the family on Facebook. The account “the official page of the Abu Warda family” posted, “Today, our family and the town of Al-Nazla bid farewell to [one of] its finest men [Majdi].” A photograph shared with the post depicts Majdi as a man dressed in a blue suit and blue tie, sitting on an armchair. May Mohamad, a friend of Enas, said, “With hearts filled with pain and sadness, I mourn my dear friend,” and described Enas as “more than just a friend; she was a kind soul and a pure heart.”
Another victim was identified as a young man, Muhammad Jumaa Abu Warda. On Facebook, Redad Abu Warda Abu Muhammad and Manar Abu Warda mourned Muhammad and asked, “May Allah have mercy on him, forgive him, and grant him a place in His spacious gardens.” Muhammad’s image shared by these sources showed a smiling young man with short, styled hair, wearing a white shirt and a black jacket.
Three other victims were identified as Alaa Bakr al-Najjar, and her two sons, three-year-old Fares Muhammad Jamal Shehadeh and four-year-old Amir Muhammad Jamal Shehadeh. Huda El-Najjar, Alaa’s sister, announced their deaths on Facebook, writing, “We will meet you in heaven, dear souls.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that, according to Hassan’s cousin, Mohamed Abu Warda, Hassan was survived by his pregnant wife and their two children. Mohamed stated, “They were staying with her family. That’s what saved their lives.”
Mohamed also told the CPJ that Hassan’s father, Majdi, had initially “sustained severe injuries.” On Facebook, Islem Djerbienne similarly said that Majdi “was moderately injured after being pulled from under the rubble,” and Social Distancing News asked for prayers for Majdi to “remove the affliction.” The day after the strike, 26th May, the official page of the Abu Warda family posted that Majdi had joined his wife and two sons who were killed by the strike. Majdi’s profile on Genocide in Gaza also confirmed that Majdi had survived the strike initially and succumbed to his injuries the next day. A post by Islem Djerbienne on Facebook referred to the late Majdi as an “engineer.”
According to Mohamed’s testimony to the CPJ, four displaced children from the neighbouring house were also killed in the deadly strike. It was not clear from the sources whether Amir and Fares were among those four children.
The Facebook account ‘Martyr’s Path’ attached five photographs to a post naming the victims, these included the photographs of Hassan and Majdi, previously described, as well as photographs of a toddler in a blue hoodie, and of two young men both wearing T-shirts.
The names of Amir and Fares were matched to the ninth “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on June 23, 2025. The ages of Enas and Hamza have been found by cross-checking names against lists of fatalities shared online by Genocide in Gaza, which has a list of “martyrs” of Israeli forces.
Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military. According to the website Genocide in Gaza, the strike happened without prior warning.