Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISLB230924r

Incident date

September 23, 2024

Location

يحمر, البقاع الغربي, Yahmor, Western Beqaa, Lebanon

Geolocation

33.494734, 35.673494 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In the afternoon of Monday, September 23, 2024, between six and ten civilians were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike that hit a petrol station in the town of Yahmor located in West Beqaa in Lebanon. Among the identified victims of the strike were Youssef Musa Abu Ahmed, Hussein Mohammed Ali, Mohammed Abbas, Khalil Nazik Farhat, Abbas Raslo al-Abd, and Hajj Ali.

According to initial sources, “violent raids” in the middle of the town led to two people being killed after a petrol station was hit in the attack. As the day progressed more people were reported as having been killed. Ali Youssef shared the names of the six men who were killed in the airstrike on Facebook; in the post, he prayed for those who lost their lives and stated that they were “with their Lord,” and that this was “their reward and their light.”

Following news of the incident, friends and family took to social media to mourn the loss of their loved ones. One such post by Facebook user Hadaia Usf noted how they initially did not pay attention to the reports and news being shared; it was only later that they recognised the name of one of his former students, Khalil Nazik Farhat as being a victim of the airstrike. Hadaia Usf wrote: “I stopped for a moment to calm the tape of my memories that took me back to a relatively distant time, a picture appeared to me there, I started wiping the dust off it to find you, Khalil!! You are still that naughty student on the school benches, with your curly blond hair, and your angelic face dominated by the whiteness of snow. You used to sum up the noise of life as a whole… with you, so you used to complain about sitting for long periods in the school classes that used to imprison your spirit that was eager to fly in God’s vast space!! Here you are, Khalil, you have arrived… We lost you physically, yes!! But you have reached where your spirit was pulling you to rise and ascend, without limits or controls!”

An image of Khalil, a young smiling man with a thick beard dressed in a white dotted T-shirt was attached to the post.

Other posts by friends and family shared images of the deceased, and one of the men pictured is seen wearing a green hat representing the AMAL political party in Lebanon. All of them were adults, and at least one man was elderly.

Haji Abbas’s death was mourned in the post by Ali Youssef who shared a picture of the victim. He was a middle-aged man with grey hair and a grey beard wearing a striped T-shirt and a blue jacket.

Twitter/X user @Mulhak shared an image of a destroyed white building with a red roof. The caption read “Raid on the town of Yahmar in West Bekaa.”

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Youssef Musa Abu Ahmed يوسف موسى أبو أحمد
Adult male killed
Hussein Mohammed Ali حسين محمد علي
Adult male killed
Mohammed Abbas محمد عباس
Adult male killed
Khalil Nazik Farhat خليل نازك فرحات
Adult male killed
Abbas Raslo al-Abd عباس رسلو العبد
Adult male killed
Hajj Ali حاج علي
Adult male killed

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a gas station being struck in the town of Yahmor (يحمر) in West Beqaa (البقاع الغربي). Analysing visual material from sources we have narrowed down the location to these exact coordinates: 33.494734, 35.673494.

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  • Imagery:
    @Mulhak

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Gas facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (6 men)
  • 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 (19) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (18) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

    Source: @DhaineYahi95343
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @DhaineYahi95343
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Sajih Elabd
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sajih Elabd
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Our village is better
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ali Youssef
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ali Youssef
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ali Youssef
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ali Youssef
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: bintjbeil.org
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: bintjbeil.org
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hadaya.usf
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ali Youssef
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: bekaaNews2
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @MahdiBoussy

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
    Gas facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (6 men)
  • 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 (19) [ collapse]