Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Four people, including a woman and a child, were killed and at least eight others were injured after an alleged Israeli airstrike on the al-Durra residence in the Burejj camp at dawn on October 13th, 2023.
11-year-old Aryam al-Durra was killed with her father, Iyad al-Durra. Iyad’s brother Nael al-Durra was also killed, along with his wife, Salwa Taha (al-Durra). Iyad’s wife and three sons, as yet unnamed, were uncovered from under the rubble and taken to the hospital with injuries, according to Eg News 24.
Iyad and Nael’s brother Jamal al-Dourra told Anadolu Agency, “Israel bombed my brothers’ homes, killed my two brothers, my brother’s wife, and his only daughter.” Iyad and Nael’s brother Jamal stated to Elwatan News that the family had received no warning, and that he, his wife and children had survived solely due to a “divine miracle,” while also telling journalist Basma Wahba, presenter of the “90 Minutes” program, broadcast on the “Al-Mehwar” channel: “My house is located next to the house of my martyr brother, and on the day of his martyrdom I saw a tsunami in my house, and I left the house with my wife and children and we were injured.” He was only able to retrieve his brothers bodies from under rubble three days after the strike.
Social media posts circulated of Jamal al-Dourra, brother to Nael and Iyad, praying for his family and paying tribute to his family members at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Mosque in the city of Deir al-Balah. In a video clip, Jamal is asking his brothers, “Reserve a place for me next to you,” as he prayed to God to help him with their passing.
An image of Jamal al-Dourra and his late son Muhammad al-Dourra was reportedly an icon of an uprising in 2000, in which his young son was killed by Israeli fire. The image depicted Jamal and his son taking cover in a cement barrel while being fired upon. Sources have used both photos to report on the incident.
A friend of Nael named Hussein Samir Kamel posted on Facebook a message to Nael that “You have been communicating with me for years about taking measures to buy an apartment for you in Egypt, but God wanted a better one for you in heaven with the martyrs.” A post on Twitter/X described Nael as “He used to help anyone in need, even beyond his capacity, and his wife Salwa was also beloved by everyone.”
According to the Bureij Facebook age, the strike occurred in the square after the Martyrs’ Roundabout in Bureij Camp.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces. Multiple local sources and witnesses refer to “explosive barrels” as being used in the attack.
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.
Due to the scale and urgency of Airwars’ assessment process, all images have been automatically uploaded to each assessment with the graphic filter applied to protect users. We have also included all images identified from the sources, which may also include any imagery of combatants.
The incident occured around dawn.
The victims were named as:
Family members (12)
Summary
Sources (18) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]
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Source: Oday Bani Safi facebook -
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Source: Albureij facebook -
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Source: Hussein Samir Kamel facebook -
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Source: Bureij Facebook -
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Source: Bassam Shammaa facebook -
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Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the Bureij camp (مخيم البريج), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.437934, 34.403857. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.