Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Shortly before 15:00 on Tuesday, 16th July 2024, at least 18 civilians, including three women, at least eight children, and a Palestinian journalist, were killed and up to 72 civilians were injured in a declared Israeli airstrike on Al-Razi School affiliated with the UNRWA relief agency and sheltering displaced people. The school was located in Camp 2 of Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the central Gaza Strip. A fire also reportedly broke out from the strike.
Israeli Defense Forces wrote about the strike on its Telegram channel at 15:25 on Tuesday, writing: “A short while ago, based on precise IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF struck terrorists who were operating in a UNRWA school in the area of Nuseirat. The terrorists planned and directed numerous attacks against IDF troops in the Gaza Strip. Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken in order to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of aerial surveillance, precise munitions, and additional intelligence.”
At 15:02, Safa news agency reported the incident, mentioning seven civilians killed and 48 injured. At 15:12 it updated the information, writing about 14 deaths and 50 injuries, and at 15:20 updated the death toll to 20.
At 15:50, Twitter/X user @tamerqdh reported 23 civilians killed. Facebook users Mohamed Awad and Sahar Isam reported that the number of injured civilians reached 72.
Social media sources helped Airwars to identify the names of 18 civilians killed in the strike.
Seven members of the Zaqout family were killed in the attack on the school, most of them children.
29-year-old Heba Yahya Zaqout was killed alongside her three children: two-year-old daughter Suwar Bassam Muhammad Zaqout, six-year-old son named Bilal Bassam Muhammad Zaqout, and four-year-old son named Muhammad Bassam Muhammad Zaqout. In a Facebook post by user Amal Hadad, Heba was pictured alongside her children.
Three other members of the family – Islam Khalifa Zaqout, Hussam’s wife, along with their daughters, 10-year-old Layan Hussam Muhammad Zaqout and eight-year-old Lama Hussam Muhammad Zaqout, were also killed according to Facebook posts by users Vluchtelingen in Nederland and Atihad Shabab Eayilat Zaqout Asdod.
There were two members of the Musameh family who had been reportedly killed in this incident: a 36-year-old man named Islam Rafiq Abu Musameh and a 41-year-old woman named Louay Ibrahim Abu Musameh. Islam’s cousin Umm Wadee posted a tribute to him on Facebook saying, “We are grieved by your departure” along with another cousin, Ahmed Abo Wesam. Ayman Al Hafi also shared on Facebook that Islam’s brother and brother’s family had been killed earlier in the war.
In an image shared by Amal Hadad, the late Islam is seen dressed in a light-blue military-styled cap and the uniform of a Palestinian national law-enforcement body.
41-year-old Muhammad Abdullah Mishmash (Abu Dhar), journalist and Program Director at “Sawt Al-Aqsa” Radio, was also reportedly killed alongside his son 15-year-old Al-Baraa Muhammad Mishmash, and their pictures were widely circulated. Facebook tributes came in from many including user Tareq Mohammed, a former school friend, user Sameera Saleh Nassar, a colleague, and user Talat Al Mufti, a well-wisher, who said they were “saddened.”
The death of Muhammad was also covered by Khabar24 News, Alarabiya Palestine, Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, and Qanat al Quds. Al Jazeera’s Tamer Almisshal in his tribute called Muhammad a “calm journalist and well-mannered broadcaster.” Reem Nassar and Amal Hadad shared the news on Facebook along with a picture of the father and son dressed in suits. Talat Al Mufti also shared an image of Muhammad working with earphones.
Deputy Director of Nusairat Police Station, 43-year-old Salem Muhammad Matar (Abu Musab) was another reported casualty. A Facebook tribute from his cousin Neven Qashlan described their “grief” and “pain” at their loss. There were also additional Facebook posts, including a picture of Salem in a buttoned shirt with a pen clipped on.
Another police officer, 25-year-old Muhammad Jamal Al-Diraawi, was also among the victims killed in this incident. His cousin Ibrahim Qatyef posted a tribute to him with his picture in a black police uniform on Facebook.
26-year-old Ahmed Hassan Muslim Al-Halou was also killed. Omar Naaem posted on Facebook offering condolences to Dr. Imad Muslim Al-Halou over the killing of his nephew.
A seven-year-old girl named Batoul Muhammad Al-Turk was also reportedly killed. Facebook users Amal Hadad and Um Mohammed Al-Turk posted a picture of her, a small girl with blond hair and blue eyes wearing a dark blue dress embroidered with pink flowers.
A sixteen-year-old child named Samir Muhammad Abu Funouneh was among those killed. His uncle Rafat Samir and family member Tareq Abo Ahmed also posted on Facebook about Samir’s death alongside other well-wishers. He was pictured in jeans and a t-shirt and carrying a weapon. Based on Samir’s age, the context of this photo and the wider posts and testimonies about Samir, this has not been taken to indicate militant status. This will be updated should further information come to light.
Another death was Abdullah Saleh Al-Faqi. A post on Facebook by Mohammed Abo Issam said they would ‘miss’ him. He was pictured sitting on the floor inside a mosque wearing a turquoise short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes. He was a young man with dark hair and a dark beard. There were several other Facebook tributes.
Finally, the killing of Muhammad Ayash was reported by many on Facebook including Hassan Eslayeh Sahafi, Yaser Yousif, Sally Thabit, and more.
After the initial strike, images were shared showing that a fire had broken out. A video of the incident tweeted by @tamerqdh showed locals gathered around heavy smoke as they used a hose to put out the fire. A photo posted on Facebook by Sahar Isam also showed a lot of smoke amidst the rubble. The Palestinian Red Crescent was reportedly called to the scene to help with injuries and deaths.
A post from Palestinian Refugee Portal included images of “Al-Aqsa Hospital receiving the martyrs and wounded of the UNRWA Al-Razi School,” with one image showing a boy or young man being treated for an arm injury and a teenage girl being treated on a floor for an injury on her side.
The main photos that were widely shared of the incident included aerial shots of a large crowd congregating on the street amidst the commotion and several more showing the wider damage to the building on the ground. On Palestine TV, a young girl named Sarah narrated what happened at the incident.
Several individuals, including @MhmedPs on X, also posted a video of Palestine TV correspondent Fouad Jarada’s voice breaking as he reported on the scene which featured partially-blurred-corpses with blankets over them laid on the floor with blood marks. The video was captioned: “Even we journalists are tired of these scenes.”
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023 the MoH has released six lists, along with an additional list of medical professionals, which was released on September 17, 2024. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the fifth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on June 30, 2024.
The incident occured at approximately 3:00 pm local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (7)
Family members (2)
Family members (2)
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention that the Al Razi School (مدرسة الرازي) was struck in the Al Nuseirat camp (مخيم النصيرات). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.442730, 34.386188.
Summary
Sources (98) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (98) [ collapse]
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Source: Ayman Al Hafi -
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Source: atihad shabab eayilat zaqout - asdod -
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Israeli Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
IDF: The IDF struck terrorists who operated in a UNRWA school in the area of Nuseirat
A short while ago, based on precise IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF struck terrorists who were operating in a UNRWA school in the area of Nuseirat.
The terrorists planned and directed numerous attacks against IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.
Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken in order to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of aerial surveillance, precise munitions, and additional intelligence.
The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law, exploiting civilian structures and population as human shields for its terror attacks against the State of Israel.
Furthermore, the IAF struck a company commander in the Islamic Jihad's Naval Unit in western Khan Younis.
We are looking into the reports stating that several civilians were injured as a result of the strike. The details are under review.