Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0183

Incident date

October 13, 2023

Location

بيت لاهيا, Beit Lahia, North Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.551277, 34.509233 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On Friday, October 13, 2023, between 17 and 25 civilian members of the Ziyadah family were killed and dozens were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the house of the Ziyadah family in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Information Center and Nabd news initially reported on the death of 17 civilians, with Al Jazeera sharing harrowing video footage of the bombings on Beit Lahia under the cover of darkness. Multiple local and international sources including Alkufiya, Refugee PS, Palestine Post, and RT news later stated that 25 civilians were killed in the bombing, with RT News also reporting the “the injury of dozens”. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign affairs confirmed the casualties in a tweet that said “25 were martyred in the targeting of the Ziyadah family home in the town of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip”, accompanied by an image of a destroyed building with children searching among the rubble.

Airwars identified the names of the two killed victims of the strike. Abu Hamza mourned the death of his elderly father Haj Khamis Ziyadah (Abu Wael), sharing an image of his lifeless face on social media, and the death of his uncle Sami Ziyadah (Abu Muhammed) in the bombing. The late Sami appears as a smiling middle-aged man on the image attached to the Facebook post.

Neighbours, friends and relatives also posted their tributes to the killed victims, with Saed Shihada calling Abu Wael Ziyadah a “good neighbor”, and Moaz Aziz saying “The martyrdom of Uncle Sami Ziada Abu Muhammad joins Uncle Khamis Ziada Abu Wael in the same place and at the same time. May God have mercy on them and make their abode in Paradise, O Lord.” Another relative of the family mentioned the death of Sami’s wife without giving a name.

A family relative Ines Tili Zaono wrote that a large part of the family had been killed in Gaza in the 2014 conflict after being displaced, with much of the Ziyadah family “displaced to Gaza, and the remaining few to the West Bank and refugee camps in the Arab world.”

Both civilians identified were found among the Ministry of Health list of names released on October 26th.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Khamis Ziyadah, Abu Wael خميس زيادة ابو وائل
66 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 955886346
Sami Ziyadah, Abu Mohammed سامي زيادة ابو محمد
47 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 901277228

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Beit Lahia (بيت لاهيا), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.551277, 34.509233. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    17 – 25
  • (2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • 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 (21) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (8) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

    Source: Moaz Aziz facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Moaz Aziz facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Moaz Aziz facebook
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

  • 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
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    17 – 25
  • (2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • 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 (21) [ collapse]