Conflict

Israel and Gaza

Incident Code

ISPT0347

Location

Jabalia, North Gaza, Palestinian territories

Geolocation

31.538711, 34.495107
Accuracy: Town

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

On 18th October 2023, four members of the Abu Shamala family, two women and two children, were killed and others were wounded by an alleged Israeli bombardment in the Al-Alami area of Jabalia camp.

Facebook posts from relatives have identified 20-year-old Saba Muhammad Daher as killed in the strike, with one relative describing Saba as a “flower.” A video of Saba’s father, Dr. Mohammed Doher receiving the news while working in the Indonesian hospital in the Northern Gaza Strip, has been circulated on Twitter by user @Shehabagency. On Facebook, Uday Abu Shamala referred to her as “Dr. Saba Dhaher,” meaning she may have been following in her father’s footsteps.

Alongside Saba, 50-year old Hanaa Abu Shamala, her daughter 16-year old Maha Abu Shamala and her granddaughter 3-year old Beirut Muhammad Abu Shamala were also reportedly killed in the strike.

Safa News quoted the Ministry of Interior who reported that in addition to those killed, there were wounded, but did not specify how many.

Airwars has matched the names of all of the civilians 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”. Along with one other source that attributed the strike to Israeli forces, this incident has been graded as a likely strike.

Victims

Family members (3)

Hanaa Abu Shamala
50 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 935342832
Maha Abu Shamala
16 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 422110502
Beirut Muhammad Abu Shamala
3 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 445222177

Individuals

Saba Muhammad Daher
20 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 409814563

Key Information

Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike
Strike Status
Likely strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
4
2 Children, 2 Women
Civilians reported injured
2

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Jabalia (جباليا), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.538711, 34.495107. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

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

Media From Sources (2)