Geolocation
Airwars assessment
At 5:15 pm on Tuesday, October 10th 2023, 16 civilians, including at least nine members of the Hijazi family, were killed, and at least three children were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the residential homes belonging to the Hijazi, al-Safadi, Atallah, and al-Sik families located in Al Sahaba street in the Al Daraj area east of Gaza City. Anas Ghanima emphasized that the houses were attacked without prior warning, sharing images of the rescue efforts.
Amnesty International claimed that “12 members of the Hijazi family and four of their neighbors” were killed, with “three children among [them]”, though Airwars were not able to find more details about the children killed. According to an investigation by the organisation, the Israeli military admitted that “they struck Hamas targets in the area but gave no further information and did not provide any evidence of the presence of military targets. Amnesty International’s research has found no evidence of military targets in the area at the time of the attack (…) [and] no military objectives in the house or its immediate vicinity”.
Photos showing the destruction following the strike were shared on social media, with Abu Hamze Rajab writing that the strike “leveled three floors to the ground”. Bashar Omar shared images of the strike’s aftermath, showing the destroyed buildings and a lot of men searching for survivors, adding “May God have mercy on the martyrs, our neighbors, the Hijazi and Al-Safadi.” Ibrahim Ahmed shared a Facebook video showing crowds of men searching for survivors amidst heavily damaged buildings and rubble.
Sakhar Nimr Heriz wrote that more than 15 people were killed as a result of the strike. Haytham Albitar wrote a condolence message on Facebook saying “May God have mercy on you, our neighbors and brothers, the Hijazi, Al-Safadi, Atallah and Al-Sak families.”
Social media testimonies by relatives and friends helped to identify some of the victims of the deadly airstrike. Among the victims belonging to the Hijazi family were 60-year-old father Abdel Karim Hamdi Abdel Hijazi (Abu Moamen) alongside his 57-year-old wife Khatam Muhammad Ramadan Hijazi, and their four children: 32-year-old son Moamen Abdel Karim Hamdi Hijazi (Abu Al-Abd Moamen), sons Ibrahim Abdel Karim Hamdi Hijazi (Abu Al-Saeed) and Qassam Abdel Karim Hamdi Hijazi, and a daughter Iman Abdel Karim Hamdi Hijazi.
Yaseer Hegazy wrote a condolence message on Facebook: “It is with great sadness that we received the news of the martyrdom of the house of my uncle Abu Mumen Hijazi.” Abu Hamze Rajab mourned the death of his “patient aunt” Khatam Muhammad Ramadan Hijazi, her husband and children.
Rafeq Al Shawa wrote a tribute to the eldest son of Abdel Karim Hijazi, Moamen, sharing an image of the smiling bearded man in a leather jacket. Namman Bolbola also mourned his death, adding that Moamen was his lifelong friend.
Ibrahim Hijazi’s death was mourned by Rafeq Al Shawa who wrote “May God have mercy on you, Ibrahim, may God accept you and make you dwell in Paradise, God willing” and shared an image of a young smiling bearded man in a black jacket. Mohammad Abu Jarad also shared a tribute to his “dear friend (…) one of the most polite, honest, and moral people”, Ibrahim Hijazi, posting a picture of the smiling young man in jeans and a grey T-shirt.
Abdul Karim’s 57-year-old brother Mahdi Hamdi Abdel Hijazi, his wife, and their son Ahmed were also killed, alongside his cousins, 29-year-old Muhammad Hazem al-Safadi (Abu Ahmed) and 34-year-old Adham Mu’een Diab al-Safadi (Abu Moin). In an interview with Amnesty International for a report on the incident, Kamal Hijazi, the brother of Abdul Karim and Mahdi, said the strike “was sudden, without any warning; that is why everyone was at home.” A sister of Kamal Hijazi, Bushra, was also listed among those killed in his Facebook testimony.
Adham’s cousin @mohammed safadi92 wrote: “The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your departure. My cousin, Adham Moin Al-Safadi.” He also added that a few days ago, Adham’s son, Majd, completed his memorization of the Quran, sharing an image of the late Adham embracing his son dressed in white clothes.
Abu Sohaib Alsafadi mourned the death of his cousin Muhammad bin Hazem Al-Safadi, sharing a picture with him. Abdelrahman Al-Bana also wrote a tribute to Muhammad who was an Imam and Islamic scholar. Abdelrahman noted that he used to listen to the lessons by Muhammad before work. He also shared an image of the late Muhammad in front of the sacred Kaaba. Rashida Adnan also wrote a testimony about Muhammad al-Safadi, posting his image in a suit.
Hussam El Madhoun wrote that Muhammad was “one of the best people in morals and knowledge. He lived freely and generously and died a martyr”.
Neighbour to the Hijazi family, 37-year-old Ahmed Khaled Kamel Al-Sik was killed when “he was going to have his hair cut at the barber, which is next to the entrance of our building”, according to Ahmed’s father who spoke to Amnesty International, noting “Ahmed had three young children who were all injured in the attack”. He continued, “When Ahmed left to go get a haircut, I could not imagine that I would not see him again. The bombing was sudden, unexpected. There was no warning; people were busy with their daily tasks.” A barber whose name is unknown was also killed in the strike.
Abu Fares Al-Sik posted a Facebook tribute to the late Ahmed, calling him “honorable cousin”, and shared an image of a young man in an emerald shirt smiling at the camera. Ahmed M H Khella wrote that earlier Ahmed’s brother Walid was killed. The cousins of Ahmed, Ahmed Z. Bawab AlSek, Eyad N Al Sek, Mahmoud Abu Al-Tayyeb, and Maher Afandi, also mourned his death.
The Atallah family also has suffered losses. Mousa Ataallah wrote: “A new massacre against my family. Atallah and our neighbors. The family of Hejazi, Al-Safadi, and Al-Sik.” Namely, young Ahmad Atallah was killed in the strike. Mohammed Abu Kareem mourned his death on Facebook, sharing an image of the young man in his 20s in a striped T-shirt, smiling into the camera. Abu Al-Baraa Ataallah posted a graphic picture of the dead Ahmad with traces of blood on his face.
Heriz Atallah Family Official Page wrote a condolence message for the members of the Atallah family and their neighbors: “Cousins, Deputy Mukhtar Hajj Sabri Atallah “Abu Ayman”, the family of Mr. Hussein Darwish Atallah “Abu Fadi”, the family of Mr. Muhammad Hashim Atallah, our neighbors the Hijazi family and the family of the greatly injured Al-Safadi, may God help you and grant you patience.”
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.
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 17:15:00 local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (11)
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention Al Sahaba Street (شارع الصحابة) in the Al Daraj area (الدرج), in the east of Gaza City (غزة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.510268, 34.463359. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (38) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (31) [ collapse]
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Source: Bashar Omar -
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Source: mohammed_safadi92 -
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Source: Abu Sohaib Alsafadi -
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Source: Abdelrahman Al-Bana -
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Source: Alsafdi Jepreel -
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Source: Alsafdi Jepreel -
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Source: Rashida Adnan -
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Source: Mohammed Abu Kareem -
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Source: Abu Fares Al-Sik -
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Source: Rafeq Al Shawa -
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Source: Ahmed M H Khella -
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Source: Rafeq Al Shawa -
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Source: Anas Ghanima -
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Source: Anas Ghanima -
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Source: Anas Ghanima -
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Source: Anas Ghanima -
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Source: Hussam El Madhoun -
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Source: Hussam El Madhoun -
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Source: Islam Abu Yusuf -
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Source: M. Mohammad Abu Jarad -
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Source: Abdallah Bin Mohammad Al-Sharfa -
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Source: Abdallah Bin Mohammad Al-Sharfa -
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Source: Namman Bolbol -
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Source: Abu Hamze Rajab -
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Source: Abu Al-Baraa Ataallah -
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Source: Abu Al-Baraa Ataallah -
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Source: Mohammed Abo Yazn -
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Source: Amnesty International Report -
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Source: Amnesty International Report -
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