Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0041

Incident date

October 8, 2023

Location

مخيّم النصيرات, Nuseirat camp, Deir Al Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.450065, 34.392934 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On the October 8th, 2023, Hamid Kamal Abu Aoun (36 years old) was killed along with his three children in an alleged Israeli airstrike on his home in the Al Nuseirat camp.

In the attack, carried out at dawn, Hamid Aoun’s two sons Kamal Hamid Abu Aoun (13 years old) and Omar Hamid Abu Aoun (five years old) and his daughter Rima Hamid Abu Aoun (one year old) were all reported killed.

Hamid Aoun was reported to be the son of Hamas Political Bureau member Kamal Abu Aoun. The strike and the deaths of the family members were reported online through different news outlets such as the Palestinian Information Center and Palestine Now. The Palestinian Information Center tweeted that Hamed Kamal Abu Aoun, son of a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, was killed, accompanied by three of his children in the attack on their home at dawn today”, whilst Palestine Now specifically attributed the bombing to Israeli aircraft.

The Nuseirat camp, where the strike had occurred, publicly confirmed the attack on its Facebook page: “confirmed the rise of the beloved Hamed Abu Aoun, a new moon joining the group of moons”.

Using social media, several family members and friends expressed their condolences, confirming the deaths of Hamad Kamal Abu Aoun and his three children. Wesam Al Attar, the cousin of Hamad Kamal Abu Aoun wrote on his Facebook account: “May God have mercy on him, the heroic martyrs. (My cousin Hamad Kamal Abu Aoun … and three of his children)”.

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

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 (4)

Hamed Kamal Abu Aoun حامد كمال أبو عون
36 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 800788010
Kamal Hamid Abu Aoun كمال حامد اأبو عون
13 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 429646748
Omar Hamid Abu Aoun عمر حامد أبو عون
5 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 440821999
Rima Hamid Abu Aoun ريما حامد أبو عون
1 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 444422067

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Nuseirat (النصيرات), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.450065, 34.392934. 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
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (3 children1 man)
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (16) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

    Source: Wesam Al Attar
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Nusayriat camp page
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdul Qadir Ahmed Al Hour
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdul Qadir Ahmed Al Hour
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdul Qadir Ahmed Al Hour
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Um Al Haytham
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

    Source: @AlanWkalt

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
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (3 children1 man)
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]