Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On October 16th 2023, 11 civilians were reportedly killed and between 10 and 17 others were injured by an alleged Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment for the Ammar family near Al-Kanz Mosque in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in central Gaza City.
Airwars identified the names of 11 members of the Ammar family who were killed. Three brothers – sons of Abdul Mohsen, 46 year old Osama Abdel Mohsen Ammar, 43 year old Iyad Abdel Mohsen Ammar and 37 year old Ahmed Abdel Mohsen Ammar were all killed. In addition, Ahmed’s two sons were also among those killed: Noman Ammar and Saeed Ammar. A post from Abu Ismail Al-Kajk described Osama as “the best brother and friend”.
During the same attack, two brothers – sons of Bashir Ammar, 61 year old Osama Hani Ammar and 64 year old Bayan Hani Ammar, were also reported to be victims of the incident. Alongside the brothers, Bayan’s wife, 52 year old Bushra Ammar and their child, 12 year old Mays Ammar, were killed according to a Facebook post by a friend. A post from Waheeb Osama gave condolences to his father Osama and his uncle Bayan, adding that his mother had died four months before “and my father could not bear her separation due to his excessive love for her”. Waheeb added that “my two brothers are in the hospital. My middle brother is in stable condition and the youngest is in stable condition, but in intensive care.”
A post by user Minsa pays tribute to his former student 23 year old Fahmy Bashir Ammar who worked in Al-Harazin Market in Al-Nasr. He has also been described as ‘the beloved, the kind, the precious’ in a further post on social media. Fatima Bashir Ammar, 16 years old, a sibling of Fahmy was also killed. An image posted by Ahmed Al-Helou shows the young Fatima in a pink head scarf.
Initial reporting of the incident recorded four fatalities and the injuries of 10 others, supported by an image capturing the injured being transported to hospital. However, reports from friends and family the day after the strike indicate the death of eleven civilians. A further 17 others were also reportedly injured, with some left in critical condition, according to a statement by members of the family. An image posted by @Mustafa3Ahed shows one man being brought to a medical facility on a stretcher.
In cases where sources attributed responsibility for the strike, they held the Israeli military responsible.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.
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 in the evening.
The victims were named as:
Family members (5)
Family members (6)
Family members (2)
Summary
Sources (26) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (10) [ collapse]
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Source: Minsa -
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Source: @Mustafa3Ahed -
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Source: @cloner2004 -
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Source: amro -
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Source: loveyou -
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Source: Ahmed Al-Helou -
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Source: Islam -
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Source: amin -
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Source: Dina -
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Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of al Kanz mosque (مسجد بلال بن رباح) in Gaza city (غزة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.519096, 34.447287. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.