Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0497

Incident date

October 23, 2023

Location

الحي الإماراتي, Emirati neighbourhood, Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.360978, 34.295816

Airwars assessment

Six civilians, including at least one child, were reportedly injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike that hit the Abdul Hadi family home in the Emirati neighbourhood, west of Khan Yunis, at approximately 9:10 AM on Monday, 23rd October 2023.

Quds News Network (@qudsn), along with several other sources on social media, reported that the six injuries arrived at Nasser Hospital for treatment. According to @Alaqsavoice_Brk, the injuries were minor.

The images shared by Twitter/X user @Yemeni_monadel showed a small girl dressed in a red T-shirt lying on a hospital bed with a severe head injury, and her T-shirt was soaked with blood.

Mohammad Abu Rukbeh, a senior Gaza field researcher for Defense for Children International  Palestine (DCIP), was eating breakfast with his family in a nearby house when the strike occurred 15 meters away from his location. He recounted:

I was frightened and found the window glass shattered over my head as if I had opened a water faucet, filled not with water, but with broken glass from the window. I did not know what to do and did not even think to lift my head. I waited for the glass shards to stop falling over my head, still alive. After a few seconds, the glass stopped falling, and I raised my head to check on my wife, children, my brother Sayed, and his family, ensuring they were unharmed by the glass that filled the living room, bedrooms, and every corner of the house. Thank god, nobody was harmed.”

He witnessed ambulances transporting the injured away from the Abdul Hadi family home and described a deep crater in the street outside 15-20 meters deep. Mohammad also reported that the strike caused damage to the local water supply and sewerage system, adding that “since that day, water has not reached our area, and we are now trying to minimize water usage as much as possible.”

While the majority of sources identified the location as the Emirati neighbourhood, DCIP referred to the location as the Baraaq neighborhood.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.

The incident occured at 09:10:00 local time.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the Emirati neighbourhood (الحي الإماراتي) of Khan Younis (خان يونس), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.360978, 34.295816. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

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Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Water station
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    6
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (24) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Yemeni_monadel
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Yemeni_monadel
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Nessid1
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Water station
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    6
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (24) [ collapse]