Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0102j

Incident date

October 10, 2023

Location

دير البلح, Deir Al Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.418995, 34.349442 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Around 03:00 on Tuesday, October 10th, 2023, a rocket or missile allegedly fired by Israeli military hit a residential apartment in the Al Saad building in the town of Deir Al Balah, Gaza Strip, killing a family of six people – including a woman and four children – and injuring a number of civilians.

Safa News reported that the bombing occurred at 03:23 and injured and killed multiple civilians. Alaa Abu Qasem shared an image of the direct aftermath of the bombing where the cloud of smoke can be seen arising over the building.

A 43-year old Dr. Luay Omar Alwan (Abu Mohammed) was killed alongside his 41-year old wife Ikram Ahmed Ateya Alwan (Al Kurd) and their four children –   17-year old eldest son Mohammed Luay Omar Alwan Alwan, 5-year old son Bilal Luay Omar Alwan, a son named Mohanad Luay Omar Alwan whose age is unknown, but below 17 years of age based on an image, and 8-year old daughter Dana Luay Omar Alwan. Mohammad Ibraheem Qarous shared images of their bodies wrapped in white cloth, saying “May God grant them the highest Paradise in Paradise without judgment or previous torment.”

A month before, Luay Omar Alwan Al Kurd had earned his master’s degree from the Economics department of the Islamic University of Gaza. Pictures posted by loved ones show a middle-aged bearded man smiling in a meeting, presenting research, and holding an award. Ismail Yousef and Osama Al-Dakran called the late Luay Omar a “beloved brother and neighbour”.  A Twitter/X user Adham Abu Selmiya (@adham922) wrote that “God bears witness that he was one of the most moral and polite people.”

He, his wife, and four of their children were also mourned by relatives, neighbours, colleagues, and friends. A Facebook user Abu Yahya shared a picture of Luay’s young smiling son Mohanad.

Safa News reported that “injuries” resulted from the strike but didn’t specify how many.

Only one source, Facebook user Issa Alwan, explictly wrote that the bombardment was perpetrated by Israeli military.  However, Airwars has matched the names of some of the civilians killed with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023, which explicitly mentions that names on the list are “victims of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip”. Therefore, this incident has been graded as Likely Strike, and civilian harm status as Fair.

The incident occured at 03:23:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (6)

Luay Omar Alwan لؤي عمر علوان
43 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 905491908
Ikram Ahmed Al-Kurd إكرام أحمد الكرد
41 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 931542708
Muhammad Alwan محمد علوان
17 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 422716928
Muhannad Alwan مهند علوان
Child male killed
Bilal Alwan بلال علوان
5 years old male killed
Dana Alwan دانا علوان
8 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 435871553

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the Al Saad building (عمارة السعد), allegedly located in the town of Deir Al Balah (دير البلح), Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Deir Al Balah are: , for which the generic coordinates are: 31.418995, 34.349442.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (4 children1 woman1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (10) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mostafa Afana
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mostafa Afana
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Mohammad Ibraheem Qarous
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohammad Ibraheem Qarous
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohammad Ibraheem Qarous
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mmy Telbani
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Nour Al Habiby
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Samza Yakeen

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (4 children1 woman1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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]