Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0026

Incident date

October 8, 2023

Location

بيت حانون, Beit Hanoun , North Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.538477, 34.536837 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least one civilian, a young man Muhammad Raed Abu Amsha “Abu Islam” (31 years old), was killed and others were wounded on October 8th, 2023 in the Abu Amsha family home in the Beit Hanoun neighborhood of the Gaza Strip, in a strike allegedly carried out by Israeli aircraft.

Condolences messages were posted by multiple family and friends in honor of Muhammad Raed Abu Amsha, including from cousins and a nephew. A post from Ibrahim Abuamsha referred to Muhammad as the “martyr leader” (القائد ) but it is unclear if this is referencing militant status or not, with no other mentions in sources. Given that this term is also often used to refer to family ‘leaders’, Airwars has assumed civilian status for Muhammad Amsha until further information comes to light.

Shehab Agency reported numerous other injuries, though information regarding other wounded was not available. Refugees PS, quoting the Interior Ministry, referred to other deaths, though this has not been corroborated.

Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.

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:

Muhammad Raed Abu Amsha محمد رائد ابو عمشة
31 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 803856921

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Beit Hanoun (بيت حانون), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.538477, 34.536837. 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 infrastructure
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (17) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Rawaa Abood
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ibrahim Abuamsha

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (17) [ collapse]