Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0063

Incident date

October 9, 2023

Location

مسجد السوسي, Al Sousi mosque, Gaza strip, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.529549, 34.447078 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On Monday October 9th 2023, at approximately 11:10am, a deadly airstrike allegedly conducted by the Israeli military destroyed the Abdullah bin Omar (Al Sousi) mosque on the territory of the Al Shati refugee camp, located in the Gaza strip west to the Gaza city, killing up to 11 civilians, including at least two children and a pregnant woman, and wounding up to 60 civilians.

Initial reporting said “a number” of victims were injured and killed, while Hasan Isleeh and Motaz put the death toll at ten killed and 60 more injured. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported 11 civilians killed and indicated that among those killed were “children”, without specifying their number or identity. Anadolu reported “a girl killed” and “several” injured. Mosab Abo Taha announced on Facebook that his cousin, described as a pregnant woman, was also killed in the bombing of the mosque.

The civilians injured were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital, according to local reports.  An unknown number of children who were carrying water were reported missing, so the number of victims could be higher than initially reported. As their whereabouts remain unknown, Airwars did not include this information in its casualty ranges yet.

The UK Independent wrote that the “entire neighbourhood” around the Al-Sousi mosque was razed to the ground by the attack. The same source indicated that three other mosques were hit by alleged Israeli bombing in the area the same day. The strikes reportedly killed “dozens of Palestinians in the camp”.  The civilian harm allegation linked to the strikes hitting three mosques (Ahmed Yassin mosque, Al-Gharbi mosque and Yarmouk Mosque) was tracked separately by Airwars, with the following code: ISPT0054.

The Independent published images showing survivors “clambering over rubble and piling bodies onto stretchers”. Hasan Isleeh additionally reported that dozens of homes were destroyed in the attack.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, there was no warning ahead of the strike.

Only three victims have so far been identified by the sources:

61-year old Musa Ismail Matar (“Abu Ismail”) was killed in the strike according to the Facebook testimony of his wife’s brother. The Board of Directors of the Ashkelon People’s Association expressed its sincere condolences to the Musa’s family. His death was deeply mourned by his cousin, Samir Mata, and his daugher-in-law, Roza Ismail.

Another victim, the elderly woman Yusra Hosni Abdullah Abu Marq (Umm Marwan, 84), was mentioned in Facebook testimonies by Alaa Abu Maraq, Haboush family and her son Ahmad Salem Abu Maraq. Her son wrote that “she spent her 46 years in the field of education raising generations of the Palestinian people in our beloved Gaza.” Her death was mourned by her grandson Tahrir Abu Maraq.

The third victim identified was 19-year old Ibrahim Fares Al-Aqra whose death was mourned by his nephew Abu Aljoud, his friend Aboud Abu Mahmohd and his cousin (or brother) APdalla abu afash.

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

Airwars has matched the names of the three victims identified with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.

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 at approximately 11:10 am local time.

The victims were named as:

Musa Ismail Matar (“Abu Ismail”) موسى اسماعيل مطر
61 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 967206269
Yusra Hosni Abdullah Abu Marq (Umm Marwan) يسرى حسني ابو ماروق ام مروان
84 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 920861028
Ibrahim Fares Al-Aqra ابراهيم فارس الاقرع
19 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 409917234

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Religious Institution
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    10 – 11
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–60
  • 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.

Sources (33) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (47) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Youssef
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    Source: Youssef
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    Source: Qastal
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    Source: Qastal
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    Source: Mahmoud
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    Source: Mahmoud
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    Source: Mahmoud
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    Source: Mahmoud
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    Source: Yousef Ashour facebook
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    Source: Wafa news
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    Source: Wafa news
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    Source: Wafa news
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    Source: Wafa news
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
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    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
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    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
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    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
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    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
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    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
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    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sharq awsat facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Alaa Abu MAraq facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Harmoon zakawa facebook
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    Source: Harmoon zakawa facebook
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    Source: Harmoon zakawa facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Harmoon zakawa facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

    Source: Aboud Abu Mahmohd facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: APdalla abu afash facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Roza Ismail facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Roza Ismail facebook
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    Source: Roza Ismail facebook
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    Source: The Independent News
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    Source: The Independent News
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Geolocation notes (3) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the Al Sousi mosque (مسجد السوسي) in the Al Shati camp (معسكر الشاطئ). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.529549 , 34.447078.

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  • Imagery:
    Asharq Al Awsat news

  • Imagery:
    Wafa news

  • Imagery:
    Wafa news

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Religious Institution
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    10 – 11
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–60
  • 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.

Sources (33) [ collapse]