Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On Monday, September 23rd 2023, at least nine members of the Zahawi family, including an elderly couple, two women, and three children, were killed and two civilians were reportedly injured in an alleged Israeli strike on Majdal Salam in southern Lebanon. According to the sources, at least four victims were Syrians displaced from the town of Urem al-Kubra in the western countryside of Aleppo.
One individual, Ali Ahmed Zahawi, was referred to as “mujahid”, a term in Arabic that often indicates connection to armed groups, though can also be used to describe individuals who more generally fight for their faith.
An elderly man, Haji Ahmed Abdel Hussein Salama Zahawi (Abu Radwan) was killed alongside his wife, Haja Asriya Munther Zahawi. Also reported killed were Muhammad Ali Zahawi, Qasim Muhammad Zahawi, Shorouk Fawaz Melhem, Manar Issa Zahawi, Rana Shihab Zahawi, Muhammad Ghazi Zahawi, and Raneem Muhammad Zahawi. Although the sources did not specify all the family relations among the victims, we can assume that Qasim and Raneem were children of either Muhammad Ali Zahawi or Muhammad Ghazi Zahawi based on their names.
On the day of the alleged strike, multiple sources including @qudsn, @Palcampnews, @PalTodayBRK, @Roaastudies, @F24online, and @YasmeenElsay3 reported “a raid targeting a house in the town of Majdal Salam Fas in southern Lebanon.” Many of the sources also shared a photo of debris scattered all over a street. Shorouknews.com also reported that “the Israeli [military]…launched raids on Majdal Salam.”
Facebook accounts Sheikh Ismail Zakariya and Ali Barakat shared videos of plumes of smoke from the attack, with the first account describing “a number of injuries in Majdal Salam, al-Musaliyah area, Lebanon: the beginning of World War III.” In the second video, a series of explosions can be heard as clouds of debris rise from various parts of town.
Following the attack, sources began reporting casualty counts. The Akhbar Min Albeqaa Facebook page reported a number of casualties from Israeli strikes in Lebanon on September 23, including “two citizens injured in raids on Majdal Salam.”
According to al-Quds al-Arabi News, “Lebanese media and Syrian sources said that four Syrians were killed in Israeli raids on the town of Majdal Salam.” It further explained that “the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that five Syrians from one family, including three children, were martyred as a result of the Israeli raids in Majdal Salam and Al-Khiyam, south of Lebanon. They were from the town of Urem al-Kubra in the western countryside of Aleppo.” @syrianewsag tweeted “The Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper confirms the killing of four Syrians in the town of Majdal Salam…in a preliminary toll of the Israeli raids on southern Lebanon.”
Offering a final count of the dead, the Municipality of Majdal Salam announced online that “in recognition of God’s will and destiny, we mourn to you the martyrdom of your loved ones who were killed as a result of the treacherous [Israeli] aggression: Martyr Mujahid Hajj Ali Ahmed Zahawi (Abu Hussein), Haj Ahmed Abdel Hussein Salama Zahawi (Abu Radwan), Hajja Asriya Munther (wife of Hajj Abu Radwan), Muhammad Ali Zahawi, Qasim Muhammad Zahawi, Shorouk Fawaz Melhem, Muhammad Ghazi Zahawi, Raneem Muhammad Zahawi, Manar Issa Zahawi. The pure bodies will be prayed over and buried in the kindergarten of their town, Majdal Salam, on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, at 11:00 before noon.”
Numerous loved ones shared their grief on social media following the killings. Twitter/X users @israa02m and @NabilaFadel6060 tweeted a collage of the Zahawi family members who were killed with the title “Martyrs of Majdal Selem, September 23, 2024”, including an elderly man, a middle-aged man (Ali Ahmed), a young couple with an infant, a young woman and two more infants, a boy and a girl.
On Facebook, Dr Omran Hazwi announced that “the enemy committed a massacre on a family of my cousins. They were all martyred, from the grandfather and his wife to the son to the grandchildren.” He also added a list of the victims of the strike.
Houssein Zahwy (Zahawi) shared his grief on Facebook too, writing that “ten moons from the family of Zahawi are martyrs… shameful massacre… How long will this continue… The al-Zahawi family in Majdal Salam brings its martyrs to the homeland… Glory and eternity belong to them and to all the martyrs.” In mourning the loss of his family members, Facebook user Zahwe Mohamad wrote that “words cannot express the extent of the pain that we feel.”
On Facebook, Mostafa Hamze shared a photo of “the martyr” Asriya Munther Zahawi and described her as “Hajja…who rose to prominence in the Majdal Salam massacre committed by the [Israeli] enemy.” Zeinat Munzar shared a picture of Asriya superimposed in front of a Lebanese flag and announced that “my aunt is a martyr of [Israeli] treachery.” Asriya was an elderly woman and she was seen in the pictures wearing a long-sleeved green dress and an embroidered black headscarf.
Facebook user Mostafa Shamseddine shared a photo of Ali Ahmed Zahawi, whom he referred to as “Hajj Ali Zahawi,” writing “Your martyrdom has disappeared from our eyes, but you remain with us and in our hearts, a sincere brother and friend who is energetic and a loving servant.” Alamine Musbah wrote “my dear friend, brother Ali Ahmed Zahawi, spent his life as a mujahid. He was martyred with his family in the Majdal Salam massacre on Monday.” As above, as Alamine referred to his activities as those of a “mujahid”, Airwars considers his civilian status as “contested” – including Zahawi both in the upper fatality range for militants as well as civilians, to account for ambiguity when this term is used.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (9)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Majdel Selm (مجدل سلم), for which the generic coordinates are: 33.221681, 35.464506. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (30) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (21) [ collapse]
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Source: Markaba my town -
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Source: Mostafa hamze -
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Source: @Roaastudies -
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Source: @Palcampnews -
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Source: @ShreimMohammad -
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Source: @F24online -
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Source: @YasmeenElsay3 -
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Source: @qudsn -
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Source: @Step_Agency -
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Source: @SawtBeirut -
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Source: Voice of the capital -
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Source: Soda al maaz -
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Source: Zeinat munzar -
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Source: @israa02m -
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Source: @NabilaFadel6060 -
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Source: Dr omran hazwi -
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Source: Houssein zahwy -
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Source: Mostafa shamseddine -
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Source: Alamine musbah -
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