Airwars assessment
On Wednesday, October 18th 2023, between five and 13 civilians were killed, including at least two children, and between 12 and 20 were wounded, including one infant and at least one woman, in an alleged Israeli airstrike on several residential buildings on Al-Houja Street in Jabalia Camp, north of the Gaza Strip. Hoda Muhammad al-Bas (5) and Uday Muhammad al-Bas (3) were the two children reportedly amongst those killed during this strike.
Reporting on this event in the early hours of October 19th, Shehab Agency stated, “5 [dead] and 12 injured have arrived at the Indonesian Hospital so far” after the alleged bombing of “a number of homes.” These details were subsequently repeated by outlets including al-Araby TV, the Egyptian Arabic-language newspaper Akhbar el-Yom and Asharq Al-Awsat. Images were shared of multiple explosions under the cover of darkness, and of wounded civilians clutching their children. The Palestine News SHFA shared an image of a massive explosion in an urban area which purportedly shows the scene at the time of the bombing.
In a statement dated at 3am, October 19th, the North Gaza Emergency Committee provided an update on those killed and wounded in the alleged bombing. The statement, shared by the Information Office of North Gaza Governorate Police on Facebook, reads “The number of martyrs increased to 13 martyrs and 20 injuries in the Al-Hoja Street massacre in Jabalia camp, and the number is likely to rise.” Other sources on local and social media posted a “number of martyrs and wounded” as a result of the alleged bombing of the home of the “al-Ghandour family.” A video shared by Ghasn showed a wailing infant being treated for injuries from the alleged bombing.
Describing the deaths of the two children, Facebook user Hamza Abu Eltarabesh shared a post on October 19th, stating, “Abu Nabil Muhammad Al-Bas, a colleague and childhood friend….He is mild mannered and calm like a summer cloud. He lost his two children in an Israeli raid that destroyed a residential square…(he) has been working as a nurse since the beginning of the aggression, and due to the pressure of work, he only saw Hoda and Uday once, when they turned into small corpses.” Huda shared images of the two children – Hoda, aged 5, a young smiling girl, and Uday, aged 3, a little boy smiling at the camera. Rowaid, a friend of Muhammed, shared condolences and an old image of Muhammad, a tall smiling man holding the hands of Hoda and Uday. Rowaid also wished Muhammad’s wife “a speedy recovery”. Muhammad himself posted a message after the death of the children, saying “Oh God, reward me for my misfortune and give me something better than it, O Lord” and “My dears, my dear/May God have mercy on you”
Airwars was not able to match the names of the children killed with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of names, October 26th 2023.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
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 local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (3)
Summary
Sources (23) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (17) [ collapse]
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Source: Sputnikarabic News -
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Source: Sputnikarabic News -
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Source: @AlarabyTV -
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Source: @shfanews_net -
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Source: Miscellaneous, attitudes and jokes -
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Source: Mimi -
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Source: Hamza -
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Source: Rowaid -
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Source: Huda -
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Source: Huda -
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Source: Muhammed -
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Source: Muhammed -
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Source: Muhammed -
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Source: Muhammed -
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Source: Muhammed -
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Source: Muhammed -
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