Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0332g

Incident date

October 17, 2023

Location

قِطَاعُ غَزَّةَ, Gaza Strip, the Gaza Strip

Airwars assessment

On Tuesday, October 17th 2023, at least one young male civilian was reportedly killed, but the precise details of the incident, including location and time, are not yet known.

The victim was identified by friends and family on social media as a 22-year old man named Youssef Naji Fares al-Hayek.

Family member Haya Bashar wrote a message on Facebook announcing the death of his cousin: “I swear to God, I don’t know how to console, what to say, or how to console. God is sufficient for me, and He is the best disposer of affairs 💔💔💔 The son of my cousin Umm Youssef, ‘Youssef Naji Al-Hayek,’ has passed away to the mercy of God Almighty, joining the convoys of martyrs.”

Facebook user Muaamen shared a photo of himself with Youssef, who is depicted taking a selfie of the two of them wearing a light blue polo shirt and a cap smiling toward the camera.  The comment reads, “with great sorrow and sadness, and with hearts that believe in God’s will and destiny My friend, the martyr Youssef Al-Hayek, has passed away. May God accept you and make your place in heaven.”

Family members and friends shared many images of the late Youssef on social media where he appears as a young and smiling bearded man and was described as a “pure soul.” In an image shared by Hayek Family he is dressed in a white shirt and is captured against the backdrop of the sea.

While local sources did not identify the belligerent, Airwars has matched the name of the civilian killed with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023, which explicitly mentions that names on the list are “victims of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.” Therefore, the strike status of this incident has been graded as a single source claim. However, based on the multiple sources reporting on the civilian harm, the civilian harm status has been graded as fair.

The location of the strike is unknown.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Youssef Naji Fares al-Hayek يوسف ناجي فارس الحايك
22 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 407119940

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 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 (14) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Noor.hadedo.9
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

    Source: Aljoulani2018

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 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 (14) [ collapse]