Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0145

Incident date

October 12, 2023

Location

الجنينة, Al Geneina, Rafah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.272972, 34.265706 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On 12 October 2023, an alleged Israeli strike hit the home of Magdy Abu Hilal, on Aed al-Bashiti street in the El Geneina neighbourhood of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip killing at least three civilians, including at least one child. Journalist Adel Alzaarab Official said the strike was conducted in the evening.

Multiple sources identified the victims as brothers, 34 year old Musab Magdy Abu Hilal and 24 year old Jihad Magdy Abu Hilal, portrayed as two young men, who were the sons of Magdy Abu Hilal and Umhm Musab Abu Hilal. Their third brother, Abdullah, had allegedly died two days before, according to Suhayb Abu Nada on Facebook. A third victim, a child, was identified as Khalil Asaad Ardah Al-Shaer. His exact age was not specified.

On Facebook, Umm Mohammad Abu Hilal referred to “two massacres” which hit her family the same day, the first one killing two brothers, and the second one leading to the death of Amani Muhammad Hassan Abu Hilal and her children. The second incident has been coded separately as ISPT0145a. Several local sources claimed that 12 members of Abu Hilal family were killed – though Airwars could only identify eight victims in the two separate attacks. @esraasaid2 on Twitter affirmed that among those 12 victims, three infants “born 10 days ago” were killed, without specifying in which incident they were killed or providing their names while another source indicated that the youngest victim was a 10 day-old baby.

Airwars’ maximum death toll estimates for this incident and for ISPT0145 was set at 12, as no further information was available regarding these four additional victims. As such, it is possible that the maximum number of victims overlaps. Airwars will update its estimates when more information comes to light.

A relative of the family, Um Mohammad Abu Hilal, mourned the two brothers Musab and Jihad on social media.

When sources identified a belligerent, they attributed the strike to the Israeli forces.

The incident occured in the evening.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Musab Magdy Abu Hilal مصعب ابو هلال
34 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 802479725
Jihad Magdy Abu Hilal جهاد ابو هلال
24 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 404555740

The victims were named as:

Khalil Asaad Arada Al-Shaer خليل اسعد عراده الشاعر
Child killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of Al Geneina (الجنينة) to the east of  Rafah (رفح), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.272972, 34.265706. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

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Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Infrastructure
    Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 12
  • (1–3 children)
  • 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 (26) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (8) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: HaSan Khalid
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: The Al-Shaer Family in the country and diaspora
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Eng-Moutasm Abd
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Learn English with Alaa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Infrastructure
    Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 12
  • (1–3 children)
  • 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 (26) [ collapse]