Incident Code

ISPT0349

Location

ِبني سهيلا, Bani Suhaila, Khan Younis, Palestinian territories

Geolocation

31.342130, 34.325343
Accuracy: Town

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

Shortly before 1:15pm on Wednesday, October 18th, 2023, at least one woman was reportedly killed and two civilians were injured after an alleged Israeli airstrike on a house belonging to the Al-Raqab family in the Salah al-Din neighborhood in the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip.

At 1:15pm Safa News reported that there were “martyrs and injuries” as a result of the bombing of the Al-Raqab family house, but did not state a specific number of casualties. A post from Alarabiya Palestine stated that a woman was killed and there were several injuries, while user “Al-Raqab Family Gathering” wrote about two injured civilians. The Al-Raqab Family Gathering page also included images of funeral prayers, showing men gathered around a body, covered by a sheet. Given the reference to multiple ‘martyrs’, Airwars has included a maximum casualty range of two civilian fatalities.

Many local sources, including Mahmoud Alreqeb post, Al-Raqab Family Gathering Post and Abdo Ahmad reported that 58-year-old Siham (Suhaim) Salama Salman Al-Raqab (Al-Riqab) (Abu Khater), the wife of Mr. Abdul Khaleq Muhammad Muhammad Al-Raqab, was killed. Siham’s grandson Abdo Ahmad and her stepson Mahmoud Alreqeb praised Siham for being a “memorizer of the Book of God (Quran)”.

The victim’s name has been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.

When sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.

Victims

Invidivuals

Siham Salama Salman al-Raqab سهام سلامة سلمان الرقب
58 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 909656860

Key Information

Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike
Strike Status
Likely strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
1–2
1 Woman
Civilians reported injured
2

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Bani Suhaila (ِبني سهيلا), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.342130, 34.325343. 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 (6)