Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISLB230924f

Incident date

September 23, 2024

Location

مدينة حاروف, Harouf City, Nabatieh, Lebanon

Geolocation

33.376047, 35.441601 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Shortly before 1:26 PM on Monday, September 23, 2024, at least nine civilians were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on two residential buildings located in Harouf city in the Nabatieh governorate of Lebanon. Among those killed were eight members of the family of Ahmed Homani, a Lebanese intellectual. Those killed from the Homani family span three generations and include three women and two children.

According to the numerous social media tributes, members of the Homani family were known for their achievements in their career and social activities.

Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Reda Homani was remembered as a brilliant intellectual and inventor. Ahmed was killed alongside his wife, social acitivist Jihan Nasser, their son, a talented engineering student Mohammed Ali Homani, and two daughters, student Narjes Homani and Zainab Homani, a lecturer at the Lebanese University and with a master’s in business administration. Zainab’s husband, an assistant in public security Ali Lotfi Ayyash was also killed, along with their two daughters, Julia Ali Lotfi Ayyash and Jinan Ali Lotfi Ayyash.

In addition to the eight members of the Homani family, Hajj Mahmoud Yahya Harb (Abu Hussein) was also killed in the alleged strike. According to Risala.harouf, Hajj Mahmoud was a “popular poet and the owner of the good soul.” The post included an image of the late Mahmoud – an elderly man in his 70s or 80s wearing a grey hat.

While Airwars found the names of nine individuals killed in the alleged strike, a post shared by Sada Harouf said that the the deadly attack claimed the lives of ten civilians.  “The town of Harouf bid farewell to ten of its martyrs…”.

Mourning the Homani family on Facebook, Fatima Ayoub, a niece of the late Ahmed Homani, called him “the thinker” and his wife Jihan – “ the social activist.” Fatima also attached the images showing the deceased family members. The first image depicted Jihan with her two daughters – three smiling muhajiba women. The second image depicted two young girls, Julia and Jihan, lying on a chair with a teddy bear. The fourth image was a headshot of Ahmed Homani, an elderly man dressed in a black jacket. The fifth image depicted a young man in a grey shirt, potentially Ahmed and Jihan’s son Mohammed.

Risala Harouf dedicated a Facebook post to the late Ahmed Homani, “the thinker, the researcher, and the inventor,” posting images with his numerous diplomas and certificates, including a certificate of participation at the 5th Istanbul International Inventions Fair ISIF’20.

One of his inventions recognized by several certificates was called “Al-Jawhar.”

The death of Jihan Nasser was also mourned in a post by Nesrin Rajab who praised the late Jihan for her personal qualities, social activities, and involvement in intellectual circles: “This pure, kind, always smiling lady, whose heart overflows with love and giving, Jihan Nasser has engraved in my soul much of her beauty and kindness. I always go to her when I need someone to connect me with poets or a door of knowledge in Harouf. She has many initiatives, exuding tenderness, companionship, and culture. Oh God, how sad it is to lose you, oh pure and chaste one, you and your honorable family!”

Nesrin shared an image of the smiling Jihan – a middle-aged woman wearing a flowery headscarf.

Youssef.chahine wrote a testimony to Zainab Homani who used to be his teacher: “Zainab Ahmed Homani – I have always stood before you as a lecturer at the Lebanese University and I was the witnessing student. I stand today before your body, seeking the meaning of martyrdom, O martyr.”

In her Facebook post, Joêlle Ghobar shared her grief after hearing the news about the Homani family: “I woke up this morning to news that I never imagined would be the first thing I heard, news that choked my breath and squeezed my chest with an unbearable weight, and cast dark shadows on my soul that still weighs down to this moment.”

Joêlle praised the Zeinab Homani as “a rare symbol of friendship and loyalty”, a loyal friend for nine years. According to Joêlle, Zeinab was “a believer, her heart was full of love and tenderness, a wonderful mother and a righteous daughter.” She also shared a picture of the smiling Zeinab with her two small daughters.

Al-Noor_Institute_for_Higher_Education mourned the death of another daughter of Ahmed and Jihan, Narjis Homani, sharing an image of a smiling young woman wearing a black headscarf and a green hoodie, sitting in front of an orange wall.

Risala Harouf wrote a heartfelt tribute to Mohammed who was described as “the promising engineer, the outstanding student, the man of scientific ambition and the influential personality.” Risala also shared a number of pictures of Mohammed, showing a young man around 20 years of age with some of his diplomas and certificates.

A post shared by Sada Harouf to Facebook noted that AMAL Presidency member Hajj Khalil Hamdan, a delegation from the [AMAL] movement, members of the Al-Risala Organisation, and community members attended the funeral held for those killed in the alleged strike. Images from the funeral prayer led by the Mujahid Sheikh Ali Youssef Ayoub accompanied the post. Eight bodies wrapped in white and green shrouds were seen lying on the floor in front of the group of men who were participating in the prayer.

Risala.harou shared additional images from the funeral, including those depicting a caravan of white Al-Risala emergency vehicles, a collective prayer at a cemetery, shrouded bodies being carried to their burial plots by Al-Risala members, and fresh graves decorated by white stones. Al-Risala Association for Health Aid is a civil defense organisation associated with the AMAL movement. Members of Al-Risala have been identified by the emblems on their shirts and high-vis vests.

A Facebook post by bintjbeil.org listed the victims’ names and posted a collage of their photos. The images of the victims and a photo of the two destroyed buildings were also shared by Moussa H Harkous who wrote: “Harouf is bleeding and mourning God is great.”

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

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (8)

Ahmed Sheikh Reda Homani أحمد الشيخ رضا حوماني
Adult male killed
Jihan Nasser Mohammed Ali Homani
Adult female killed
Mohammed Ali Homani محمد علي حوماني
Adult male killed
Narjes Homani نرجس حوماني
Adult female killed
Zainab Homani زينب حوماني
Adult female killed
Ali Lotfi Ayyash علي لطفي عياش
Adult male killed
Julia Ayyash جوليا عياش
Child female killed
Jihan Ayyash جيهان عايش
Child female killed

The victims were named as:

Mahmoud Yahya Harb محمود يحيى حرب
Adult male killed

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a residential building being struck in Harouf city (مدينة حاروف) in the Nabatieh governorate (قضاء النبطية). Analysing visual material from sources we have narrowed down the location to these exact coordinates: 33.376047, 35.441601.

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  • Imagery:
    Moussa H Harkous

  • Imagery:
    Aboamir.atwi

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    9 – 10
  • (2 children3 women4 men)
  • 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
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (31) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (104) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Fatima Ayoub

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    Source: Fatima Ayoub

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    Source: Fatima Ayoub

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    Source: Fatima Ayoub

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    Source: Fatima Ayoub

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    Source: Bintjbeil

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    Source: @UCEF_ACY

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    Source: @fatimadaoud

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    Source: @Mustaf_AlShuwai

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    Source: @Gaza1311

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    Source: @alking14399969

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: GLISMedia

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sada Harouf

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    Source: Sada Harouf

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    Source: Sada Harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sada Harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Moussa H Harkous

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    Source: Moussa H Harkous

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Aboamir.atwi

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    Source: Aboamir.atwi

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    Source: Aboamir.atwi

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    Source: Aboamir.atwi

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    Source: Aboamir.atwi

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ali.chahine

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    Source: Ali.chahine

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Nesrin Rajab

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Harouf echo platform

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    Source: Joelle.ghobar

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    Source: Joelle.ghobar

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    Source: Joelle.ghobar

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    Source: Alnouracademicinstitute

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

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    Source: Risala.harou

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harou

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sada Harouf

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    Source: Sada Harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Nabatiehorg

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    Source: @Nabatiehorg

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    Source: @Nabatiehorg

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    Source: @Nabatiehorg

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

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    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Risala.harouf

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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
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    9 – 10
  • (2 children3 women4 men)
  • 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
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (31) [ collapse]