Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0332c

Incident date

October 17, 2023

Location

محافظة دير البلح, Deir Al Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.420319, 34.370157 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Province/governorate level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On Tuesday, October 17th, 2023, at least ten civilians were killed by an alleged Israeli airstrike on Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. The identified casualties were members of the Radwan family.

Nebal Mohammad was killed with six of her children. Her five daughters, 21-year old Duha Radwan, 14-year old Maryam Radwan, Saha Radwan, 6-year old Lana Radwan, and Sana Radwan were killed, as was her son, 11-year old Mohammad Radwan.

Nebal’s mother and father, as well as her sister, were also killed; these three people remain unnamed.

Nebal Mohammad was the wife of the late journalist Ghassan Radwan; the family is survived by the eldest daughter, Nour Radwan, who “not a single word [could] console.”

Multiple friends and relatives posted condolence messages on social media, remembering the family, who had been displaced to Deir al-Balah. Friend Tayssir Abdelkrim posted on Facebook, expressing her shock: “Someone is lying about the news, for God’s sake!!” She lamented the loss of her friend Saja, who had been married for two months before her death. She further remembered Nebal as a “good, strong, patient mother.”

Two days before her death, Lana Radwan had sent her sister a video, expressing her fear at her family’s lack of safety: “I don’t want to die and be torn to pieces.” She missed her school and her friends.

Mohammed Ghassan Radwan was remembered as a “smart” boy who wanted to become a soccer player. He had been looking forward to attending a match at the soccer club but was killed before it took place. Images of the children were attached to the post from Gaza Martyrs, showing the Lana and Mohammed dressed up for a special occasion, Lana proudly cradling a new purse. The two were remembered as the “soul of the house.”  .

Where the sources identified the belligerent, sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.

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 local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (10)

Nebal Mohammad نبال محمد
Adult female killed
Saja Radwan سجى رضوان
Adult female killed
Duha Radwan ضحى رضوان
21 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 408118214
Sana Radwan سنا رضوان
killed
Maryam Radwan مريم رضوان
14 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 429888670
Lana Radwan لانا رضوان
6 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 438283798
Mohammad Radwan محمد رضوان
11 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 433173838
Mother of Nebal ام نبال محمد
Adult female killed
Father of Nebal أبو نبال محمد
male killed
Sister of Nebal أخت نبال محمد
female killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the Deir al Balah governorate (محافظة دير البلح), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.420319, 34.370157. 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
  • Infrastructure
    Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    10
  • (3–4 children5–6 women1 man)
  • 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 (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

    Source: @GazaMartyrs

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Infrastructure
    Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    10
  • (3–4 children5–6 women1 man)
  • 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 (9) [ collapse]