Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0022

Incident date

October 8, 2023

Location

مسجد اليرموك, Yarmouk Mosque, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.312024, 34.361819 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On the evening of October 8th 2023, 12 people were reported injured, including a baby, when an alleged Israeli strike hit Yarmouk Mosque in the Gaza Strip. The mosque was reported to be completely destroyed.

A tweet from @ShehabAgency stated that 12 injured people arrived at the Al-Shifa Medical complex, while other sources mentioned that there were casualties without noting an exact toll. Images posted by various sources show a baby and an elderly woman injured near the mosque.

Felesteen News spoke to a witness named Bilal Salama (38 years old) who described what happened: “The bombing was sudden, without warning, we felt that the house was exploding, and after the smoke and dust cleared, the vision began to become clearer. I found my daughter bleeding from the impact of glass flying on her head. We all went down to check on my father and mother, who live on the ground floor and whose door opens directly onto the mosque. As you can see, we could not enter from here, so we went from the back and made holes in the walls, and we began removing the rubble until we reached my father and mother and some of the children, grandchildren, who were stuck under the stones that fell on them from the mosque.” Bilal Salama’s father and mother were taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries.

Felesteen News spoke to another witness named Hajj Jihad Jarour whose bulldozer, which is how he made his livelihood, was destroyed by the bombing: “We were sitting in the basement of the house, and suddenly we heard the bombing and the house shook and smoke filled the place. As you can see, everything is gone, the house and the tools. May God compensate us.”

The Palestinian Civil Defense reported on their teams dealing with the evacuation of citizens and the transfer of casualties from the surrounding area. Another local source specified that Ansar Central Ambulance Station evacuated the injured from the bombing.

The mosque was located near Ramzoun al-Ghafri on Al-Jalaa Street.

According to Felesteen News, the minaret at Yarmouk Mosque was silenced for the first time since the mosque was established in 1974. Felesteen News stated that “the bombing affected the area’s water lines and infrastructure” and “many of the houses surrounding the mosque are no longer fit for living”.

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 incident occured in the evening.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Daughter of Bilal Salama
female injured
Father of Bilal Salama
male injured
Mother of Bilal Salama
female injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Religious Institution, Water station
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    12
  • 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.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (12) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (24) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Pharmacist Walaa Elmahallawi
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    Source: Palestinian civil defense
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    Source: Palestinian civil defense
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    Source: Palestinian civil defense
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Medical services - Gaza Strip
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Medical services - Gaza Strip
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Medical services - Gaza Strip
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Medical services - Gaza Strip
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Medical services - Gaza Strip
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    Source: Medical services - Gaza Strip
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mou’men Hassouna
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Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the Yarmouk mosque (مسجد اليرموك) in Gaza city (غزة). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following coordinates: 31.312024, 34.361819.

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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
    Religious Institution, Water station
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    12
  • 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.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (12) [ collapse]