Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0290

Incident date

October 17, 2023

Location

جوار مستشفى الكويتي, Vicinity of al Kuwaiti Hospital, Rafah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.288347, 34.250999 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On Tuesday morning, October 17 2023, between 12 and 28 civilians were reported killed, including at least 2 children, and others were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a five-storey house behind the al-Kuwaiti hospital in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza.

While one source on social media claimed that there were 12 killed in the strike, media outlets like Shehab Agency and Alray reported on the death of 22 civilians. The Palestinian Information Center stated that 25 civilians had been killed, sharing video footage of the bodies of at least two children killed, one of whom appears to be an infant. Another source on social media, Jarad, shared an image of a middle-aged man in a press vest collapsed in grief. Sana news added that “others were injured” in the bombing, without specifying the number or details of those injured, while the Voice of the Nation newspaper quoted Shehab Agency and the Ministry of the Interior in Gaza as updating the death toll to 28 killed, alleging that: “While pressuring the residents of northern Gaza to move towards the south, Israel is intensifying its bombing of various areas of southern Gaza.”

Airwars will update the assessment if further details on the victims identities become available.

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

The incident occured in the morning.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of al Kuwaiti hospital (مسجد بلال بن رباح) in Rafah (غزة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.288347, 34.250999. 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
    Healthcare facility, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12 – 28
  • (2 children)
  • 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.
  • Impact
    Healthcare
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (14) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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
    Healthcare facility, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12 – 28
  • (2 children)
  • 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.
  • Impact
    Healthcare
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (14) [ collapse]