Airwars assessment
On the morning of Tuesday, August 20th, 2024, a 32-year-old journalist from Record Media named Hamza Abdulrahman Murtaja was killed alongside at least 15 to 18 other civilians, including at least eight children, while dozens of civilians were also wounded in a declared Israeli airstrike on the Hustafa Hafez elementary school located in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City.
Israeli forces stated that they were targeting “terrorists who were operating in a command and control complex that was established and hidden in the area of the “Metzafa Haft” school in Gaza City”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Israeli Defence Forces wrote a letter on August 28th to the organisation, stating that “Murtaja was an operative in the military branch of Hamas and was struck while staying in a Hamas command and control center that was embedded and hidden by the Hamas terrorist organization inside the ‘Mustafa Khaft’ School compound in Gaza City.” UNESCO, the Committee to Protect Journalists and other sources did not corroborate this claim, detailing Murtaja’s journalistic career. Murtaja has therefore been listed as a civilian, and a journalist, until further information is provided to corroborate the IDF claim.
Several sources stated that the three-story school building was being used as a shelter for at least 700 and up to thousands of displaced people at the time of the incident and that recreational activities for children were ongoing when the strike occurred.
The reported number of casualties varied across sources. Several sources, including @ShehabAgency and @PalinfoAr on Twitter/X, reported that 10 people were killed. However, other sources, such as @AnasAlSharif0 on Twitter/X and Hamasinfo on Facebook, indicated that 12 people were killed. Different sources reported that women and children compromised the majority of the victims, with @binharb1a on Twitter/X specifying that eight children were among the dead and another video shared by multiple social media users stating that more than ten children were dead. Some reports indicated that additional victims were still missing, trapped under the rubble due to a lack of proper equipment for retrieval.
Airwars’ researchers were able to identify the names of eight of the killed civilians from local sources.
Numerous sources reported that Hamza Abdulrahman Murtaja (Abu Omar), a 32-year-old journalist, co-owner, and camera operator for the privately owned Record Media, was killed during the incident. Record Media works with multiple outlets including Reuters, the British Channel 4, Anadolu Agency, Al Jazeera TV, Al Araby TV, and Al Mashhad TV.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Murtaja was filming a TV report about people sheltering in the school when he was killed. A brother of the deceased journalist, Motasem Murtaja, told CPJ that “Hamza was wearing a helmet and a press vest” at the time, adding that Record Media is committed to safety requirements for their journalists and “we agreed to minimize the number of journalists on the ground reporting to minimize the human loss if the places we report from were hit.”
According to CPJ, the late Hamza Murtaja was the father of two children: Omar, 4, and Yasser, 6 months. Yasser was named after his uncle, the journalist Yasser Murtaja who had been killed in 2018, and was born during the Israel-Gaza war on the same day Yasser was killed. Motasem Murtaja added that Hamza had not met his son Yasser.
Palestinian Journalists Syndicate wrote that Motasem Murtaja was unable to bid farewell to the body of his brother as he was displaced to Deir al-Balah. Moatasem Murtaja and a number of journalists, including a delegation from the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, performed the funeral prayer in absentia for the soul of his brother at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. A Facebook post by Ahed Farwana (Abu Awni) contained images from the event, including the collective prayer and the moments when fellow journalists embraced Moatasem, comforting him.
Many social media posts featured images of the late Hamza – a young man with a dark beard. In an image taken by Fadi Al-Wahidi he is seen smiling in a red pullover with the inscription “Batman”. A photo posted on Facebook by AJA.Palestine showed a body wrapped in a shroud with a press vest on top of it, identified as the “martyred journalist Hamza Murtaja.”
On Facebook, Mohammed Al-Shiah posted a list of other victims who died during the attack, including Mahmoud Jamil Shabana (Abu Hafs), Ismail Rabah Al-Hato (Abu Hudhayfah) and Hamza Abdulrahman Murtaja (Abu Omar). He wrote a tribute to the victims: “The martyrdom of a group of beloved ones and the best young men of #Tal_Al_Hawa neighborhood.”
According to social media posts, Ismail Rabah Al-Hato (Abu Hudhayfah) was a Sheikh and preacher. His cousin Hasen Hato shared an image of the deceased Ismail, dressed in a brown shirt with a thick dark beard.
Abdul Fattah bin Mohammed and Eslaam Saqallah mourned the death of their friend, Mahmoud Jamil Shabana (Abu Hafs), sharing his images – a young man likely in his early 20s with a thick curly beard and dark hair.
Heba Alagha expressed condolence to the family of Rami Zuhair Barzap (Abu Ahmed), in particular, to his father Dr. Zuhair Barzaq (Abu Basil) on the death of his “young, decent son” who she reported was killed during the incident. His death was also confirmed by Rimal.januby on Facebook, who additionally reported the death of Hazem Abu Issa (Abu Abdul Rahman). A headshot of the late Rami – a young man dressed in a checkered shirt and brown jacket – was shared in the post. Heba Alagha wrote a condolence message to her friends Leen Zuhair Barzaq and Haya Barzaq, mourning the death of their brother.
The death of Hazem Abu Issa was mourned in a post by Ahmad Ez Aldeen who wrote “Brother Abu Abdul Rahman Hazem Abu Issa and a group of his brothers were martyred”, adding an image of the late Hazem – a man likely in his 30s dressed in a white shirt.
Another list posted by Emad.s.mouse on Facebook included Khaled ibn Al-Waleed Breis (Abu Al-Abd) among the deceased. Abu Wael grieved his death in a Facebook post: “My beloved, well-mannered, literary cousin Khaled joins his wife and daughters as a martyr. May God have mercy on you, my beloved, and grant us patience in our separation from you.” He shared two images of a young man likely in his 20s with light eyes and a beard. Mohammad Breis also mourned the death of his cousin Khaled.
Osama Lubd reported on Facebook that his aunt Umm Muhammad died during the attack, sharing images of the body wrapped in a white shroud with the name Amani Kaheel on it and a fresh grave. Osama described his aunt as patient and steadfast.
Other victims were reportedly so severely mutilated that they could not be identified, as noted, among others, by Ali Abdo on Facebook. He wrote: “We observed women and children without heads and their bodies torn apart in this heinous massacre.”
While several sources mentioned injuries, the exact number remains unclear. Many sources referenced multiple injuries without providing specifics, but @AnasAlSharif0 on Twitter/X mentioned “dozens of injuries.” Muna Karman wrote that the injuries arrived at Al-Ma’madani Hospital. Images and videos shared on social media depicted the aftermath of the strike, including a wounded child being carried on an ambulance stretcher and people in distress carrying children.
A graphic video shared by Shehab Agency, @PalinfoAr, and @qamar_qamar__ on Twitter/X featured eight dead children, including infants, wrapped in blankets and lying on the ground. The male voice said that he saw eight killed children with his own eyes, while the strike killed more than ten children.
A Facebook user Mona Muhammad shared a graphic picture showing four children’s bodies lying on the floor of a hospital with their clothes soaked with blood. Summer Helmy added more graphic images of the dead children, including a small girl with curly hair wearing a T-shirt fully soaked with blood.
Medical Services – Gaza Strip reported that they retrieved “5 martyrs and 2 injured” with a note that “There are a number of other martyrs and injured who were transported by other service providers.” The Medical Services account also shared a video on Facebook showing paramedics carrying the body of an injured man and the dead body of an unidentified civilian, along with another image showed a man’s body torn apart by debris.
Several pictures and videos posted on Twitter/X and Facebook showed the extensive damage to the Mustafa Hafez School. Pictures, including ones posted on Facebook by Mustafa Hafez Mixed Elementary School, captured significant destruction, with large sections of the school, including three stories, completely collapsed. Pictures posted by @mahmoudabuziad5 and ShehabAgency showed people and rescue teams searching between the rubble for survivors.
In a video posted on Twitter/X by Shehab Agency, a journalist spoke about the tragedy while the completely destroyed building can be seen behind his back.
In a video report published by Aljazeera, a correspondent on the ground showed rescue efforts as people were recovering bodies from the rubble. The footage shows shattered bodies, with some wrapped in blankets. Civil Defense reported that its volunteers were forced to leave a number of victims under the rubble due to the lack of mechanisms to remove the rubble.
In its Twitter/X post at 10:38 AM on August 20, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged the strike and alleged that the school complex was used by Hamas to plan and carry out attacks. The IDF statement said: “Air Force fighter jets carried out a precise and intelligence-guided strike on a group of terrorists in a command and control compound that was constructed and hidden in the area of the Mustafa Hafez School in Gaza City, which Hamas operatives used to plan and carry out attacks against IDF forces and the State of Israel. A series of measures were taken prior to the attack to minimize the possibility of civilian casualties.”
The Facebook account “Israel speaks Arabic” also shared a video that reportedly showed the strike carried out by IDF.
Based on this statement of the Israeli forces, Airwars has classified the strike status as “declared”. The IDF did not acknowledge the civilian harm resulting from the strike.
The incident occured in the morning.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (82) [ collapse]
Media
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Source: Khalefelkatea -
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Source: Osama Lubd -
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Source: Osama Lubd -
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Source: Mohammed Al-Shiah -
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Source: Mohammed Al-Shiah -
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Source: Rimal.januby -
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Source: Sameh Abu shameh -
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Source: Imad Wafi Abu Wasam -
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Source: Hasen Hato -
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Source: Mr. Mohammed Al-Bayed Abu Adi -
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Source: Bahaa Hamalawi -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Akha.bq -
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Source: DiyaFayez -
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Source: Aljazeerachannel -
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Source: Mustafa Hafez Mixed Elementary School -
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Source: Mustafa Hafez Mixed Elementary School -
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Source: Mustafa Hafez Mixed Elementary School -
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Source: Hashem Mohammed Hamid -
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Source: Mona Muhammad -
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Source: muthana najjar -
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Source: Lebanon Files -
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Source: AJA.Palestine -
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Source: AJA.Palestine -
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Source: Arabi21News -
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Source: Palestinian Journalists Syndicate - PJS -
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Source: muthana najjar -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahed Farwana, Abu Awni -
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Source: Ahmad Ez Aldeen -
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Source: Hasan Hato -
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Source: Abdul Fattah bin Mohammed -
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Source: Eslaam Saqallah -
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Source: Summer Helmy -
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Source: Summer Helmy -
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Source: Summer Helmy -
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Source: Summer Helmy -
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Source: @BelalNezar -
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Source: @BelalNezar -
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Source: @BelalNezar -
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Source: @BelalNezar -
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Source: @mahmoudabuziad5 -
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Source: @mahmoudabuziad5 -
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Source: @mahmoudabuziad5 -
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Source: Hamasinfo News -
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Source: Abu wael -
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Source: Abu wael -
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Source: Ahmad Kullab -
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Source: Moawaya Asshour -
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Source: Mohammad breis -
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Source: Mohammad Alqadi -
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Source: Muna Karman -
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Source: ShehabAgency -
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Source: ShehabAgency -
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Source: ShehabAgency -
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Source: ShehabAgency -
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Source: ShehabAgency -
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Source: ShehabAgency -
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Source: ShehabAgency -
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Source: ShehabAgency -
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Source: Osama Lubd -
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Source: Abdul Hamid Hamido -
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Source: @channeldraw
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Source: Committee to Protect Journalists
Israeli Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
Fighter jets of the Air Force attacked a short time ago, in a targeted manner and under the intelligence guidance of the IMN, the Shin Bet and the Southern Command, terrorists who were operating in a command and control complex that was established and hidden in the area of the "Metzafa Haft" school in Gaza City>>