Key Takeaways:
- A mass funeral was held last week in Gaza for members of the Abu Sharia family who died in November, 2023.
- The Abu Sharia clan is closely tied to the Mujahideen Movement, and key figures in the terrorist organization were killed in the incident.
- The media failed to mention the slain terrorists, or the ties of the family to the organization that had held members of the Bibas family hostage.
Last week, at least 45 news articles covered the August 4 funerals of the Abu Sharia and Al-Hasayna families, but there was no mention that some of those killed in the November 2023 incident were leaders of the terrorist organization that held Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas in captivity.
One hundred and twelve people were buried in a service on Tuesday according to Reuters, reportedly the victims of a November 22, 2023 airstrike on family compounds. Over 300 people were killed in the strike according to Gazan authorities, though contemporary Arabic media reports detailed 93 deaths. Services were held for 112 recovered bodies.
The funeral services for the 112 people were led by the Mujahideen Movement, according to a Tuesday Telegram post by the terrorist organization.
The Mujahideen are closely connected to the Abu Sharia family, which Reuters reported was part of the extended Al-Hasayna family. The Mujahideen Movement and its armed Brigades were founded and led by members of the Abu Sharia family.
Mujahideen Terrorists Amid the Casualties
Among the Abu Sharia’s casualties from the Sabra neighborhood incident was Muhammad Shahada Abu Sharia, the “intellectual founder” of the Mujahideen Movement. His two sons, Sami and Nader, were terrorist commanders killed in 2006 and 2014, respectively. He lost further family members in the incident.
Bassam Atiya Abu Sharia, brother of the Movement’s leader As’ad Abu Sharia, was also killed in the incident with his family. Bassam was listed as a “founding martyr” in a poster of deceased leaders published in April by the Mujahideen.
Khaled Mohammed Ibrahim Abu Sharia, who according to family Facebook group posts was killed on the same date as the others, was photographed in a military uniform.
Also among the casualties were the families of Mujahideen commander Ahmad Abu Sharia and Movement secretary-general As’ad Abu Sharia.
“The martyrdom of my family and a large number of the elders of my family, the mujahid [holy warrior] Abu Sharia family, and all the pure blood of our people that was shed in this battle is the fuel of victory and will only increase our determination to achieve our goal and our resolve to destroy the fascist, Nazi, corrupt Zionist entity on this land,” As’ad Abu Sharia said in a November 23, 2023 statement.
Mujahideen and Holding Bibas Family Hostage
Both As’ad and Ahmad Abu Sharia were killed in a June 7, 2025 airstrike. The airstrike was conducted in response to the involvement of the Mujahideen leaders in the kidnapping of members of the Bibas family.
The Mujahideen Movement held the Shiri Bibas and her children hostage following the October 7 Massacre. Shiri, 4-year-old Ariel, and 9-month-old Kfir were abducted from their home in Nir Oz. While in captivity, the terrorists murdered the Bibas children with their bare hands, then desecrated the bodies to hide what they did. The bodies were held for ransom, denied burial until Israel released terrorists in a trade. Their bodies were repatriated last February in exchange for a ransom of imprisoned terrorists, but not before their bodies were paraded around in coffins as part of a triumphant Hamas ceremony. Terrorists and their supporters cheered as the coffins were displayed in a signing ceremony. Shiri was not returned to Israel with her boys, and instead Israeli authorities were given an unidentified woman’s body. It was only later that month that her body was returned.
Missing Information About the Funeral
The circumstances of the November Abu Sharia compound incident are unclear. The Israeli military has not released any information about the event, and if it had targeted the neighborhood with airstrikes on November 22, 2023. Collateral damage is often the direct result of terrorists embedding themselves in civilian infrastructure. The Mujahideen leaders may have been the targets of the strike, and their families may have been caught in the fighting.
Regardless of the reason, any civilian casualties, especially children, are a tragedy, and that tragedy rightfully deserves coverage by international media.
However the failure to note the prominent terrorists killed in the incident, and the clan’s deep ties to the Mujahideen Movement, denies vital pieces of information to readers.
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
