Airwars assessment
Shortly before 2:33 AM on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, several social media posts and media outlets reported on the alleged Israeli airstrikes in Douair, in the Nabatieh district, Lebanon, resulting in the death of at least five civilians, among them a husband and his wife and a Syrian refugee.
The incident was first reported by Twitter/X user @Sa7atPlBreaking at 2:33 AM, and @Palcampnews corroborated the same information at 2:34 AM.
In their reports, media outlet @Jezzinetahki and Facebook page Masar have documented the killings of four residents and one Syrian refugee due to the airstrikes, stating that some of the victims have already been buried. The transfer of the body of Khadija Qanso (Umm Maher Jradi) for burial in Douair was reported on Facebook by user Haruof. In the image shared by the source, she is seen as a middle-aged woman wearing a black hijab.
Facebook users Rana, Ismaeel, and Al Duerr reported the death of a young man, Firas Farhat, and an elderly couple – Hajj Hassan Mahmoud Hattit (Abu Zaher) and his wife Maryam Mohsen Badran (Umm Zaher).
Facebook user Rana mourned the death of Firas Farhat, writing: “The groom of heaven, my dear. Congratulations to you, congratulations to you, my groom.” She added several images of Firas, a young man with a shaved head. The Facebook post Hassan Eliano Zarate called Firas “a hero of the Lebanese army”. Likely referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces (who are not a party to the conflict), Firas has therefore been recorded as a civilian. This will be updated should additional information come to light indicating that Firas was part of an armed group that was party to the conflict.
Facebook user Ismaeel wrote a tribute to the deceased couple – Abu Zaher and Umm Zaher, sharing their pictures. Both spouses were in their 60s or 70s.
Another Facebook user Roaa, reporting about the casualties in Douair village, remembered Mahmoud Houtait. Facebook user Nasser M Al Ali referred to Mahmoud as “Mujahid” and shared a TikTok video and a photo of Mahmoud holding a gun and wearing a safety vest. In the image, a large patch with the words “Directorate of Intelligence” are written, in Arabic. In another post, Facebook user Al duerr in remembered Mahmoud as the “Chief Warrant Officer”, a position within the Internal Security and Lebanese Armed Force. Pairing the images shared by Nasser with this reference to Mahmoud as having held a position in the Lebanese Armed Forces, a group which is not party to this conflict, Mahmoud has been recorded as a civilian. This will be updated should additional information come to light.
A personal Facebook account with the username Ivar Ht and likely belonging to Mahmoud Houtait shared an image in 2022 of a piece of fabric with the words (in Arabic) “The Lebanese Resistance Regiments”, accompanied by the AMAL logo. AMAL is a political party that used to operate a militia and is now allied with Hezbollah. As there is no explicit indication of militant activities, and it is believed that AMAL is not militarily involved in this conflict, this has not been used to shift Mahmoud’s civilian status to militant. This will be updated should additional information come to light.
Khadija Qanso was likely the mother of Mahmoud Houtait as the Facebook user Roaa mentioned that he had been killed alongside his mother: “We offer our condolences to our honorable family, the Hattit family, for the martyrdom of four martyrs, including Hajj Abu Zaher, Hajja Umm Zaher, and the martyr Mahmoud Hattit and his mother, and to the Farhat family for the martyrdom of their young son, Firas Farhat.”
Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.
The incident occured at approximately 2:33 am local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Family members (2)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (20) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (22) [ collapse]
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Source: Haruof -
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Source: Haruof -
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Source: Haruof -
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Source: @trq_sr -
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Source: Rana -
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Source: Rana -
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Source: Rana -
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Source: Ismaeel -
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Source: Ismaeel -
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Source: Ali -
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Source: Hasan -
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Source: Hasan -
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Source: Hasan -
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Source: Al duerr -
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Source: Al duerr -
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Source: Al duerr -
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Source: Al duerr -
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Source: Ibraheem -
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Source: Al Ghareeb -
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Source: Ivar Ht