Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0283

Incident date

October 17, 2023

Location

مخيم خان يونس, Khan Younis refugee camp, Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.348333, 34.293889 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At 4:30 am on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, between 15 and 40 civilians were killed and dozens more were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike that hit the al-Lamdani family house in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

Facebook posts by family members reported the names of the civilians that were killed: Ibrahim al-Lamdani, his wife and children who remain unnamed, his brother 54 year old Ahmed al-Lamdani and his unnamed wife and children, Ibrahim and Ahmed’s sister Jamila al-Lamdani and her unnamed children were among those killed. Ibrahim and Ahmed’s nephew, 40 year old Muhammad Ihsan al-Lamdani and his wife Elham Hamdan al-Lamdani, were killed, as were their children: 21 year old Hossam Muhammad al-Lamdani, 20 year old Mahmoud Muhammad al-Lamdani, 14 year old Youssef Muhammad al-Lamdani, 8 year old Islam Muhammad al-Lamdani, 17 year old Nagham Muhammad al-Lamdani and 11 year old Farah Muhammad al-Lamdani. In addition, 38 year old Sabreen al-Lamdani, Muhammad’s sister, was also killed, along with her unnamed children.

A tweet from @ShehabAgency put the number killed at “more than 40” and added that many of those killed had fled to Khan Yunis after being displaced from their northern homes. The lowest death toll provided by local sources was 15 killed.

Photos of the shrapnel from the weapon that hit the house have circled social media, as have photos of injured people, the rubble, and victims in body bags. Family and friends have written messages on Facebook. Mosa, the brother of Elham, wrote “With hearts that believe in God’s will and power, today my beloved sister, the martyr, bled (Elham Hamdan Abu Muammar). Her husband, the martyr (Muhammad Ihsan al-Lamdani), and their martyred sons”. Mohammad wrote “May God have mercy on your soul, O Abu Hassam, a clean, respectable and decent man. I testify to your honesty and politeness. A thousand mercy and light descend on your grave, my dear. May God reward you, Khan Yunis. We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.”

18 year-old Dima al-Lamdani lost most of her family, including her parents, seven siblings and four members of her uncle’s family. Dima, who was trapped under rubble after the explosion (and is pictured with cuts on her face), described the horror of waiting to be found: “The time I spent waiting to be found were some of the most horrifying moments. I was about to lose my mind.” She was luckily found alive in the rubble after waiting for help for several hours. In an interview with the Reuters she said “This is a nightmare. It will never be wiped from my memory,” she said. “I had a sister, 16. They wrote my name on the white sheet they wrapped her body in, they thought it was me.” To the Guardian, she spoke of her disillusionment of a future without her family: “I am crumbled now. No dreams, no hopes, no plans. I can’t imagine my life without my mother, sister and father. The Israeli forces betrayed us. There is no place that is safe.” Dima, her brother, and her two younger cousins were pulled from the rubble and were the only survivors from the family. This coincides with another source, Bashira Akkad, which also mentioned that “only 4 of them survived serious injuries”.

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

The munition used has been classified on Airwars’ Open Source Munitions Portal cases OSMP505 and OSMP506. Analysts classified this as likely a 2000lb bomb, with the tentative model a MK 84 based on munition remnants found after the strike and posted by @adham922.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.

The incident occured at approximately 4:30 am local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (23)

Ibrahim Al-Lamdani إبراهيم اللمداني
51 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 801971037
Wife of Ibrahim Al-Lamdani زوجة إبراهيم اللمداني
female killed
Child of of Ibrahim Al-Lamdani أبناء إبراهيم اللمداني
killed
Child of of Ibrahim Al-Lamdani أبناء إبراهيم اللمداني
killed
Ahmed Al-Lamdani أحمد اللمداني
54 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 967346586
Wife of Ahmed Al-Lamdani زوجة أحمد اللمداني
female killed
Child of Ahmed Al-Lamdani أبناء أحمد اللمداني
killed
Child of Ahmed Al-Lamdani أبناء أحمد اللمداني
killed
Jamila Al-Lamdani جميلة اللمداني
female killed
Child of Jamila Al-Lamdani أبناء حمد إحسان اللمداني
killed
Child of Jamila Al-Lamdani أبناء حمد إحسان اللمداني
killed
Muhammad Ihsan Al-Lamdani محمد إحسان اللمداني
40 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 926700493
Elham Hamdan Al-Lamdani إلهام حمدان اللمداني
41 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 926658329
Hossam Muhammad Al-Lamdani حسام محمد اللمداني
21 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 408882389
Mahmoud Muhammad Al-Lamdani محمود محمد اللمداني
20 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 409790623
Youssef Muhammad Al-Lamdani يوسف محمد اللمداني
14 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 429219678
Islam Muhammad Al-Lamdani إسلام محمد اللمداني
8 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 436789598
Nagham Muhammad Al-Lamdani نغم محمد اللمداني
17 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 424213288
Farah Muhammad Al-Lamdani فرح محمد اللمداني
11 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 432086445
Sabreen Al-Lamdani صابرين اللمداني
38 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 800554636
Child of Sabreen Al-Lamdani أبناء صابرين اللمداني
killed
Child of Sabreen Al-Lamdani أبناء صابرين اللمداني
killed
Dima al-Lamdani
18 years old female injured

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention Khan Younis refugee camp (مخيم خان يونس), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.348333, 34.293889. 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
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15 – 41
  • (4–12 children5 women5 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 (26) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (62) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: @adham922
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @adham922
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @adham922
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    Source: @adham922
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    Source: @Tasnimarabic
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    Source: @Tasnimarabic
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Tasnimarabic
  • 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: @Walsanousi
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    Source: @Walsanousi
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    Source: @Walsanousi
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    Source: @EekadFacts
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    Source: @KareemQaddura
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    Source: @KareemQaddura
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    Source: @KareemQaddura
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    Source: @KareemQaddura
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    Source: @Alafeefammar
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    Source: @Alafeefammar
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    Source: @Alafeefammar
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: VOP94
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: VOP94
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: VOP94
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: VOP94
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: VOP94
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: VOP94
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: VOP94
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: VOP94
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: VOP94
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Mohammad
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    Source: ReutersNews
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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
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15 – 41
  • (4–12 children5 women5 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 (26) [ collapse]