Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISSY009

Incident date

April 27, 2020

Location

الحجيرة , Al Hujayra, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.43897, 36.31820 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least two civilians, including a woman, were killed and three others, including a 6-year-old child, were injured in alleged Israeli airstrikes on the town of Al Hujayra, Damascus countryside, on April 27th, 2020, according to local sources. Other sources stated that the civilians died due to remnants of anti-aircraft missiles fired by the Syrian regime.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “three civilians were martyred and others were wounded, as a result of shrapnel of missile fragments on their homes in the Adliya and Al Hujayra regions of the southern countryside of Damascus.” The source, however, stated it was not known “whether the shrapnel was caused by Israeli missiles, or by the air defence missiles of the Syrian regime”.

The regime-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency reported that “enemy missile fragments landed in the populated towns of “Al Hujayra” and “Al Adliya”, which caused the death of three civilians, and the injury of three others, including a six-year-old child.”

Haaretz News quoted local sources as saying that “Four members of a pro-Iran militia and three civilians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a Damascus suburb in the early hours of Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Syria’s official news agency SANA earlier reported three civilians had been killed and four injured, including a child.” However, they did not specify which location these casualties occurred.

In an article, SANA quoted the governor of Quneitra, Hammam Dabiyat, who stated that Israeli forces had targeted civilians homes in the town, killing a man and his wife, and wounding three others, including a child.

SANA also quoted the governor of Damascus countryside, Alaa Ibrahim, who further specified that the house of a displaced family from the city of Quneitra was targeted, “which led to the death of the husband and his wife, and the injury of their child and another person and the wife’s mother. The injured were treated at Al Mujtahid Hospital, while a woman died in the Al Adliya area as a result of the aggression.”

Dr Salah Ismail, head of the ambulance department at the Al Mujtahid hospital, stated that ” three cases of people from one family with injuries and wounds arrived at the hospital this morning from the Hujayraarea.” Two of the victims were lightly injured, while the third case, a child, remained under medical observation.

Shaam News Network, however, reported that the civilians were killed and injured “by shrapnel from remnants of anti-aircraft missiles from the regime’s militias, coinciding with the Israeli warplanes carrying out airstrikes on Iranian militia positions at dawn today, April 27, according to the expectations of identical local sources.”

Shaam furthermore reported, according to local courses, that “eight Israeli airstrikes were carried out by Israeli planes targeting the sites of the regime and Iranian militias in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and its surroundings, at dawn today, without revealing the size of the human and material losses inflicted on the locations of the targeted militias”.

The incident occured at approximately 5:00 am local time.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Hujayra (الحجيرة), for which the generic coordinates are: 33.43897, 36.31820. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 3
  • (1 woman1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Israeli Military, Syrian Regime
  • Suspected targets
    Assad regime, Iranian military
  • Belligerents reported killed
    4

Sources (29) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]

  • Damaged building after alleged Israeli airstrikes on Al Hujayra or Al Adliya on April 27th, 2020 (via SANA).
  • Translation: “Three civilians were killed and three others were wounded in the towns of Al Hujayra and Adliya, as a result of the Israeli aggression” (via SANA).
  • Alleged Israeli strikes on a southern Damascus suburb on April 27, 2020. (Image posted by Israel Hayom, attributed to Syrian Arab News Agency)
  • Explosions over Damascus during alleged Israeli strike on April 27, 2020. (Image posted by Ynet News)
  • Damage caused by an Israeli strike on April 27, 2020. (Image posted by Ynet News)
  • Alleged Israeli strikes on a southern Damascus suburb on April 27, 2020. (Image posted by Kan News)
  • Alleged Israeli strikes on a southern Damascus suburb on April 27, 2020. (Image posted by Kan News)

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 3
  • (1 woman1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Israeli Military, Syrian Regime
  • Suspected targets
    Assad regime, Iranian military
  • Belligerents reported killed
    4

Sources (29) [ collapse]