On the evening of October 9th, 2023, up to 15 members of the al-Madhoun family, including two women and eleven children, were killed as a result of an alleged Israeli airstrike on the al-Madhoun family home located behind the Golden Hall in the Americana area west to the town of Beit Lahyia in the northern Gaza Strip. According to the Defense for Children Palestine (DCI Palestine) report, the attack on the two-story family house happened without a prior warning.
Initially the family members and “Al-Araby Al-Jadeed” correspondent reported about 14 people killed. “The entire family was removed from the civil registry and registered with the Immortals” wrote their relative Fayeq al-Madhoun on Facebook. A family member Ahmad al-Madhoun wrote on the social media platform “X” to confirm the death of the 14 members of the al-Madhoun family, posting the picture of the rubble which used to be the family house. He wrote: “14 members of my family were martyred in a massacre and direct bombing of the Al-Madhoun family home in the Sudaniya area, including children and women!”.
Later, local news agencies Shehab Agency, Wafa News, Daqiqa News reported that the Israeli military bombed the home of the two brothers, 37-year-old Dr. Muhammad Abdel Rahim al-Madhoun and 33-year-old Dr. Ahmed Abdel Rahim al-Madhoun*, subsequently leading to their death and the death of 13 other family members of the al-Madhoun family, including Muhammad’s wife and six children and Ahmed’s wife and five children. The brothers’ cousin Abu Habib shared testimony on Facebook, posting pictures of the two brothers who lost their lives in the attack.
The following day, on October 10th, a family member Abu Mohammed Madhoun confirmed on Facebook that the six children of Muhammad Abd al-Rahim al-Madhoun killed in the airstrike were: Fatima Muhammad Abd al-Rahim al-Madhoun (female, child, 7), Amani Muhammad Abd al-Rahim al-Madhoun (female, child, 4), Mahmoud Muhammad Abd al-Rahim al-Madhoun (male, child, 9), Akram Muhammad Abdel Rahim al-Madhoun (male, child, 10), Karam Muhammad Abdel Rahim al-Madhoun (male, child 3), Watan Muhammad Abdel Rahim al-Madhoun (male, child, 1), alongside Amal Mahmoud Zayed al-Zaanin (al-Madhoun) (female, 39 years old) – likely to be Muhammad Abd al-Rahim al-Madhoun’s wife. The source added that specialised teams continued to search for the remaining members of the family under the rubble of their home.
