Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0214

Incident date

October 15, 2023

Location

سوبر ماركت الاسمر, al Asmar Supermarket, Rafah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.307887, 34.239218 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On Sunday, October 15th 2023, four members of the Awaja family were killed, and at least five others, including at least three children, were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a house belonging to the Awaja family on First Street near Al-Asmar Supermarket, in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood west of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

Safa news and Palestine press reported that “A house for the Awaja family in the Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah” was bombed, while sources on social media included further details mentioning that the home was located on First Street near Al-Asmar Supermarket, and belonged to Lal Awaja, without specifying if he was among the casualties. Twitter user Hamza al Namla included a video showing rescue efforts at a heavily damaged building, allegedly the bombed home.

Local media including Safa and Shehab Agency reported on the death of two women in the bombing, with Shehab also reporting a total of four deaths and a “large number of injuries” as having been recovered, which was corroborated by the Palestinian Information Center, Wattan, Nabad and New Press. Hani Alshaer, a source online, specified five civilians were injured in the attack, while Muhammad al-Jamal mentioned the names of the two women killed, saying “the martyrdom of two girls, Heba Nafez al-Hams and Shaima Ali Awaja.” Multiple sources on local and social media including the Palestinian Information Center, Shehab Agency, Quds, and al Jazeera shared heartbreaking images of at least three heavily injured young children being treated in a hospital, stating “Children receiving primary care at Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah following the bombing of a Palestinian family’s home in the Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood.” Sources do not mention the ages of the children, or their relationship to the Awaja family.

Relatives and friends of the Awaja family mourned the deaths on social media, with Basma Ibrahim and Rona Nayef Ali offering condolences to their friend Dina for the death of her unnamed mother, and the the deaths of her sister-in-law Heba Nafez al-Hams, her aunt Ibtisam Awaja, and Ibtisam’s daughter Shaima Awaja. Sources refer to Heba’s husband Muhammad Awaja as a martyr, indicating that he was killed in a previous incident.

All of the names of the civilians killed in the attack have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.

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

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Heba Nafez al-Hams هبة نافذ الهمص
40 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 456408194
Shaima Ali Awaja شيماء عواجة
33 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 802662528
Ibtisam Awaja ابتسام عواجة
61 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 924870983

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of al Asmar Supermarket (سوبر ماركت الاسمر) to the west of Rafah (رفح), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.307887 34.239218. 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
    Marketplace, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (3–4 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • 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.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (49) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (76) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @RaidKaid1
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    Source: @RaidKaid1
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    Source: @RaidKaid1
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

    Source: Selma Bén'aâ
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Warda Hebat Al-Rahman
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    Source: Warda Hebat Al-Rahman
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Warda Hebat Al-Rahman
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Warda Hebat Al-Rahman
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Warda Hebat Al-Rahman
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Warda Hebat Al-Rahman
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Mohamed Ait Larbi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohamed Ait Larbi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohamed Ait Larbi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohamed Ait Larbi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohamed Ait Larbi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohamed Ait Larbi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Warda Al Qasimi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Warda Al Qasimi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Warda Al Qasimi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Warda Al Qasimi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Warda Al Qasimi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Abdul Rahman Hamada
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdul Rahman Hamada
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdul Rahman Hamada
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdul Rahman Hamada
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdul Rahman Hamada
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdul Rahman Hamada
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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
    Marketplace, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (3–4 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • 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.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (49) [ collapse]