Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike on the residential home of the al-Sarhi family located opposite the Salah Al-Din Mosque in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood of the Gaza City killed at least 10 identified civilians, among them at least two children and one woman, and injured at least one person. According to the Facebook account “Made in Gaza”, some people were also missing following the attack.
A 31-year old man Al-Mahfez/Khaled Akram Ahmad al-Sarhi (“Abu Al-Walid”) who was referred to as “Professor” in the post by Ahmad Mazen was killed in the strike. He was survived by his baby son Walid Khaled Al-Sarhi. His death was mourned by Mustafa Mahmoud who posted a picture of a smiling man and wrote “God Almighty: “And do not think that those who were killed in the cause of God are dead; rather, they are alive with their Lord, being provided for.” In a Facebook testimony by Khamis Sadi Al-Samouni the late Khaled Akram Ahmad al-Sarhi was portrayed in a suit at some festive event. His friend Abdulsalam Aldaloul referred to him as a “Governor” and wrote the words full of grief: “The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your departure, Abu Al-Walid”. The late Khaled is featured in the attached image with a young boy, probably his son.
A post by Facebook user Atef Naimi shows a photo of a woman holding a baby with a red sweater and a wisp of brown hair next to a row of what appear to be white body bags. “Walid Khaled Al-Sarhi is carried by his grandmother,” the caption reads, ”not knowing that his father [likely Khaled Akram Al-Sarhi, identified as Abu Walid, or ‘father of Walid’] is among the bodies of the martyrs of the Zaytoun neighborhood.”
A 46-year old Mahmoud Akram Al-Sarhi also lost his life in the strike according to the Facebook testimony of his cousin Ahmad Mazen. Among the victims were also Ahmad Mazen’s sister’s husband Hossam Zuhair Al-Ghoula (Abu Anas), his 24-year old friend Abdul (Abdel) Karim Asaad Abu Samra (Abu Al-Joud), and Al-Qamar Khalil Abu Samra (Khalil Hani), son of Al-Siddiq Hani Abu Samra. Abdul Karim Asaad Abu Samra’s smiling picture was shared in a Facebok testimony by Hay alZaytoun. Facebook user Ashraf Al-Nimr, who calls Khalil Hani Abu Samra the son of his cousin, posted a picture showing him wearing sunglasses and smiling as he dangles his legs into a pool. His picture was also shared in a Facebook post by Adham Alnimir.
A 37-year old man Bakir Al-Sarhi (Abu Assem) was reportedly killed together with his wife, seemingly 30-year old Abeer Akram Hussein al-Sirhi (possibly also called Abeer Akram Akkila), their children, his father, mother and siblings. Haroun Daloul mourned the loss of Bakr Al-Sarhi. “The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your departure,” Daloul wrote of his friend. He also posted a picture of the smiling Bakir amidst olive fields. Abeer Akram Akkila was remembered in Facebook testimony by Akkila family.
Among the victims was also another man, Saker (Saqr) Al-Sarhi, who was reportedly killed together with his wife, his children, his brothers, his brothers’ wives and their children, his mother and his son. Fadi Mustafa Farwana wrote in a touching testimony that Saker lost all his family members.
The deadly attack also took the lives of young children. A daughter of the Al-Sarhi neigbors, an 11-year old girl Janna Zuhair ‘Ata Madi was remembered in a Facebook post by Hay Alzaytoun, showing her as a young girl with brown hair and a pink shirt. A 15-year old Mervat Saleh Fahmy Al-Sarhi was also among the killed children, remembered by her mother in a Facebook testimony.
A man named Mahmoud Hasballah reported that his brother Abu Ramzi was injured in the bombing. His Facebook post included a photo of a mid-aged man on a stretcher with bandages on his arm and leg in what appears to be a medical facility.
This is the only positively identified case of an injury in the strike, but the Facebook account “Made in Gaza” notes “martyrs, injuries and missing persons” from the strike on the al-Sarhi home. Due to the plural use of “injuries” the number of maximum injured civilians has been increased to two.
Testimonies by the family members and friends of the Al-Sarhi family speak about many victims, paying tribute to one specific person but adding that his/her relatives were also killed. It is therefore possible that the number of the civilians killed in the strike may exceed the eleven identified victims. Airwars will update the death toll figures if new information emerges.
Photos of the aftermath of the attack posted by Nedal Abu Hasan and Camera Press on Facebook show very extensive damage in the area around the strike, including a collapsed home, rubble, and overturned vehicles. The Palestine Civil Defense wrote that its crews from the Gaza Governorate worked to recover a number of martyrs as a result of the bombing of the Al-Sarhi family home, posting images of the rubble and search operations.
None of the sources mention any prior warning ahead of the strike.
Where possible, Airwars has matched names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces. A Facebook user Nedal Abu Hasan noted that the attack happened without prior warning.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes (3) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of Salah al Din mosque (مسجد صلاح الدين) in Gaza city (غزة). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.496814, 34.458025
Summary
Sources (22) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (27) [ collapse]
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Source: Nedal Abu Hasan facebook -
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Source: Nedal Abu Hasan facebook -
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Source: Nedal Abu Hasan facebook -
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Source: Camera Press facebook -
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Source: Camera Press facebook -
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Source: Camera Press facebook -
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Source: Camera Press facebook -
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Source: Camera Press facebook -
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Source: Mahmoud Hasballah facebook -
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Source: Mustafa Mahmoud facebook -
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Source: Hay Zaytoun facebook -
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Source: Khamis Sadi Al-Samouni facebook -
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Source: Palestine civil defense facebook -
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Source: Palestine civil defense facebook -
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Source: Palestine civil defense facebook -
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Source: Palestine civil defense facebook -
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Source: Palestine civil defense facebook -
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Source: Palestine civil defense facebook -
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Source: Haroun Daloul facebook -
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Source: Hay Alzaytoun facebook -
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Source: Ashraf Al-Nimr facebook -
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Source: Ashraf Al-Nimr facebook -
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Source: Adham Alnimir facebook -
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Source: Atef Naimi facebook -
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Source: ABdulsalam Aldaloul facebook -
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