Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0036

Incident date

October 8, 2023

Location

مخيم النصيرات, Nuseirat camp, Deir al-Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.458824, 34.389414 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

An alleged Israeli airstrike that hit the civilian home of the Younis family in Nuseirat refugee camp on the 8th of October 2023 killed six members of the family, five of them civilians, and injured a child.

While reports immediately after the strike reported a lower death toll, later reports were agreed that six civilians had been killed. SND Palestine published images of the funerals. Reports also mention one child who was pulled from the rubble alive.

The victims were identified in local reporting as: Ayman Younis (50 years old), his wife Areej, and their children Abdul Aziz (son, 14 years old), Alaa (daughter, 20 years old), Hala (daughter, 18 years old), and Lina (daughter, 16 years old). The child who was injured has not been identified by name. Ayman Younis was identified as a militant in a Facebook post by Al-Tabaeen Mosque, which referred to Ayman as a “Qassam Mujahid leader”. Therefore, he has not been counted among the civilian harm toll.

A condolence message was posted for the family by the aunt or uncle of Areej and the Board of Directors of the Ashkelon People’s Association.

Al Mezan reported that the strike resulted in the complete destruction of the four-storey house of the Al-Assar family and three neighbouring houses.

Images showed at least two bodies of the victims wrapped in the Hamas flag.

Where possible, names have been matched with the list of nearly 7,000 names published by the Palestinian Ministry of Health on October 26th, 2023.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces. A tweet from @SafaPs specified that the bombing occurred without warning.

On October 9th, 2024 the Airwars Investigations Unit, along with Sky News, published an investigation geolocating and matching airstrike footage released by the Israeli military with incidents in the Airwars archive. In total, Airwars’ team identified 17 strikes leading to civilian harm from the first month of the war, of which the Israeli military itself had published footage. This strike was among the 17. As such this incident has been reclassified as a declared Israeli strike, rather than a likely one.

Due to the scale and urgency of Airwars’ assessment process, all images have been automatically uploaded to each assessment with the graphic filter applied to protect users. We have also included all images identified from the sources, which may also include any imagery of combatants.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (5)

Areej “Umm al-Abd.” أريج
female Wife of Ayman killed
Abdul Aziz Ayman Younis عبد العزيز أيمن
14 years old male Child of Ayman and Areej killed Matched to MoH ID 426449476
Alaa Ayman Younis الاء ايمن يونس
20 years old female Child of Ayman and Areej killed Matched to MoH ID 408874675
Hala Ayman Younis حلا أيمن يونس
18 years old female Child of Ayman and Areej killed Matched to MoH ID 421265133
Lina Ayman Younes لينة أيمن يونس
16 years old female Child of Ayman and Areej killed Matched to MoH ID 424414084

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of the Nuseirat camp (مخيم النصيرات). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.458824, 34.389414. The Airwars team matched these exact coordinates to a screenshot taken at 0:00 of the strike video shared by the IDF to Twitter/X.

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  • Imagery:
    Mohammed Ismail Al Hor

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (2 children3 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • 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.
  • Known belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Belligerents reported killed
    1

Sources (20) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (26) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Snd_pal
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Snd_pal
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Snd_pal
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Snd_pal
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Snd_pal
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Snd_pal
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Snd_pal
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Snd_pal
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SafaPs
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Emad Jamal
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohammed Ismail Al Hor
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohammed Ismail Al Hor
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Adham matar
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Adham matar
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al Nusayrat camp
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • Source: Al-Tabaeen Mosque

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Israeli Military

A short while ago, IAF fighter jets struck a compound belonging to the head of the intelligence department in the Hamas terrorist organization.

The IAF is currently continuing to strike terror targets in the Gaza Strip.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (2 children3 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • 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.
  • Known belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Belligerents reported killed
    1

Sources (20) [ collapse]