Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

PALIS033

Incident date

May 20, 2021

Location

عسقلان, Ashkelon, Southern, Israel

Geolocation

31.666667, 34.566667 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A rocket fired by Al Qassam directly hit a home in Ashkelon, injuring two civilians and causing damage to the building and surrounding area.

Al Qassam claimed responsibility for the attack in a Telegram post that stated at 12:59 “Al-Qassam Brigades bombard occupied Ashkelon with a missile launch” and added at 13:18 “The enemy admits that a [settler] was injured and a building was damaged after the last Qassam bombing of Ashkelon”.

The injured were reported by multiple sources as a 32 year old male victim who was hit on the head by shrapnel whilst inside the house struck by the missile, and a 26 year old male victim who was moderately injured by shards of glass. Both were reportedly taken to Barzilai Hospital for treatment.

The exact time of the incident was not reported, although an MDA tweet published at 3.21pm local time claimed that ‘following the alarms that were sounded in the last minutes in the Ashkelon sector’ the 26 year old injured civilian was taken to Barzilai Hospital.

The incident occured at approximately 4:21 pm local time.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Ashkelon (אשקלון), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.666667, 34.566667. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known belligerent
    Palestinian Militants

Sources (25) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]

  • Damage caused by strikes on Ashkelon on May 20, 2021. (Image posted by @mL5tf8Rs4role)
  • Damage caused by strikes on Ashkelon on May 20, 2021. (Image posted by @mL5tf8Rs4role)
  • Damage caused by strikes on Ashkelon on May 20, 2021. (Image posted by @mL5tf8Rs4role)
  • A picture of the house that was hit directly in Ashkelon on May 20, 2021. (Image posted by @Lamapal1948)
  • A picture of the house that was hit directly in Ashkelon on May 20, 2021. (Image posted by Saleh via Facebook)
  • A picture of the house that was hit directly in Ashkelon on May 20, 2021. (Image posted by Moaz7 via Facebook)

Palestinian Militants Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    Palestinian Militants
  • Palestinian Militants position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    2

Original strike reports

Palestinian Militants

12:59
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
Al-Qassam Brigades bombard occupied Ashkelon with a missile launch

13:18
The enemy admits that a [settler] was injured and a building was damaged after the last Qassam bombing of Ashkelon

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known belligerent
    Palestinian Militants

Sources (25) [ collapse]