Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0244

Incident date

October 16, 2023

Location

الزيتون, Al Zeitoun, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.485479, 34.444885 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On October 16th 2023 at least three people – 37 year old journalist Abdulhadi Habib, his mother-in-law, 54 year old Buthina Al Tatar, and her grandchild, three year old Amer Bilal Al-Tatar, were killed by an alleged Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment in the Zaytoun neighborhood in eastern Gaza. Multiple sources agree that family members of Abdulhadi Habib were also injured during the airstrike, with injuries ranging from moderate to severe. The exact details of those injured is unknown.

Palestinians of Iraq’s Facebook post reported that on October 16, 2023 the neighbourhoods of Zaytoun and Al-Shujaiya were subject to a sustained, eight hour aerial bombardment. Most sources agree that it was during this time that Abdulhadi Habib’s residential apartment was hit – allegedly by an Israeli airstrike.

Abdulhadi Habib was a journalist for the UNRWA Education Television. The Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has made a statement on the incident. She described the death of the UNRWA journalist as deplorable, and renewed calls for parties to respect the UN Security Council Resolution 2222/2015 which protects journalists during conflict. Audrey Azoulay called for a “full independent investigation” into the death of Abdulhadi Habib.

Muhammad Abu Sharka, a colleague of Abdulhadi, described their time working together: “We covered dozens of events together. We shared the difficult moments, the pressure of work, staying up for long hours, tears, and food. His smile was always present, and his comments alleviated the hardship of work.” Another of his former colleagues, journalist Israa Al-Mudalallal, added that Abdulhadi’s wife had just given birth to a baby girl on the first day of the conflict.

Friends and family members of the victims posted condolence messages, including Yahya Z. Tatars who memorialized their aunt “mother of Mustafa Sarsour”, her daughter (which may indicate that Abdulhadi’s wife was also killed), and their cousin Amer Bilal Al-Tatar.

Airwars has matched all of the names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces. A post by Mohamed Yousif specified that the bombing occurred without warning.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Abdulhadi Habib عبدالهادي حبيب
37 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 801512716
Buthina Al Tatar (Sarsour) بثينة تتر
54 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 922861372
Amer Bilal Al Tatar عامر بلال تتر
3 years old male 444896674 killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the Al Zeitoun (الزيتون) neighbourhood of Gaza city (غزة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.485479, 34.444885. 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
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • (1 child1–2 women1 man1 journalist)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (20) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinians of Iraq website
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinians of Iraq website
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinians of Iraq website
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: @Ameeraljid1
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Salam al hak Tarik's mother

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
    3 – 4
  • (1 child1–2 women1 man1 journalist)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (20) [ collapse]