Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Two civilians were killed and another was injured in alleged Israeli drone strike on farmland west of Deir al-Balah on May 11th 2021.
WAFA News reported that “the occupation planes targeted a group of citizens west of Deir al-Balah, which led to the death of a citizen and the serious injury of another.” However, Al Haya and various other sources said that two civilians were killed in the bombing.
According to Al Mezan, “on Tuesday evening, 11 May 2021, an Israeli drone fired a missile at farmland in the district of Middle Gaza. The attack killed two Palestinian brothers, 21-year-old Munther Abdel Kareem Baraka and 18-year-old Manar, running a family-owned poultry business.” Various other sources give Manar’s age as between 18 and 19 years old and Anadolu Agency listed Manar as being a woman.
A report by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, an Israeli-based research group, provided information that “the two brothers worked on their father’s poultry farm near the Deir al-Balah beach, situated near “resistance” positions in southwestern Deir al-Balah. It was so close to the outposts that shrapnel fell near the farm every time the positions were attacked. According to the family, they were killed by a missile fired from a UAV when the Israeli Air Force attacked the terrorist positions near the farm”.
@AbdulrahmanQan added that at the time the brothers were killed, they were working on the farm and Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported that “they were in a 14-dunum rented agricultural land that included 3 poultry farms, which belong to their father “Abdel Karim Mohammed Barakah”. Palestinian Center for Human Rights also reported that “at approximately 22:00, their bodies were taken to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.”
B’Tselem interviewed Abd al-Karim Barakah, 65, a father of seven including Munzer [Munther] and Manar, who said “On Tuesday evening, 11 May 2021, I was with my sons Munzer and Manar on our land. We went there despite the war because the chicks needed care. The atmosphere was tense that night. There were airstrikes all the time and drones hovering over us. We sat down under an olive tree, a few meters away from the coops. Munzer said he and Manar would go turn on the gas heaters in the coops to keep the chicks warm, and then come home. Manar was terrified of the airstrikes and held his brother’s hand. They headed to the coop and I stayed under the tree. Everything was dark because there was no power in the area at the time. When they were both 20 meters away from me, the bombings suddenly intensified and they shouted to me that they were leaving. I called out to them, “Leave everything and go home.” Meanwhile, some bales of straw caught fire and I got up quickly to put it out. As I was putting it out, I heard a loud explosion. About 45 minutes later, I was done putting out the fire and called out to my sons, but they didn’t answer. I went in the direction they’d gone and then found them lying side by side about 30 meters away. I sat down next to them and put Munzer’s head on my leg. I called, “Munzer, Munzer,” but he didn’t respond. So I left him and started talking to Manar. I called his name, but he didn’t respond either. I shouted as loud as I could for my neighbors to come, and some members of the Khsewan family, who live nearby, arrived. They picked my children up and took them to the house of a family member who lives 100 meters from the coop. Fifteen minutes later, a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance arrived and took my sons to Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. When we got to the hospital, the doctors examined them and pronounced them dead. We buried them the next day at noon. Munzer and Manar left school in the sixth grade and have worked in the coops with me ever since. They raised the chicks to adulthood and then sold them. They took care of the whole financial side of the business….Since our boys were killed, things at home have been very tough. My wife is suffering immensely. I take her to the doctor almost every day. She has anxiety attacks and screams and cries a lot, especially when people come to console her.”
A tweet from @Mmt90_ reported that the bodies of Munther and Manar were taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital after the strike. Images posted by EastArea on Facebook show the funeral for the brothers, with many people gathered to mourn their death.
All of the sources that reported on the incident attributed the strikes to Israel.
The incident occured in the evening.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Summary
Sources (27) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]
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Image of Munther Abdelkareem Baraka, killed alongside his brother Manar in alleged Israeli airstrikes west of Deir Al-Balah on May 11, 2021. (Image posted by @fidaazaanin)
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Image of Manar Abdel kareem Baraka, killed alongside his brother Munther in alleged Israeli airstrikes west of Deir Al-Balah on May 11, 2021. (Image posted by @fidaazaanin)
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Image of Munther Abdelkareem Baraka, killed alongside his brother Manar in alleged Israeli airstrikes west of Deir Al-Balah on May 11, 2021. (Image posted by @AbdulrahmanQan)
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Image of Munther Abdelkareem Baraka, killed alongside his brother Manar in alleged Israeli airstrikes west of Deir Al-Balah on May 11, 2021. (Image posted by Ali Awaini via Facebook)
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Image of Munther Abdelkareem Baraka, killed alongside his brother Manar in alleged Israeli airstrikes west of Deir Al-Balah on May 11, 2021. (Image posted by @odayfares.baraka via Facebook)
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Image of Munther Abdelkareem Baraka, killed alongside his brother Manar in alleged Israeli airstrikes west of Deir Al-Balah on May 11, 2021. (Image posted by Ahmad S baraka via Facebook)
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Funeral for brothers Munther and Manar Abdel Karim Baraka, killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes west of Deir Al-Balah on May 11, 2021. (Image posted by EastArea via Facebook)
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Funeral for brothers Munther and Manar Abdel Karim Baraka, killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes west of Deir Al-Balah on May 11, 2021. (Image posted by EastArea via Facebook)
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Funeral for brothers Munther and Manar Abdel Karim Baraka, killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes west of Deir Al-Balah on May 11, 2021. (Image posted by EastArea via Facebook)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention farmland in the southwest 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: 31.417292, 34.351187.