Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0358

Incident date

October 18, 2023

Location

العلمي, al Alami neighbourhood, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.537166, 34.500485 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 18th 2023, several children were reportedly killed and injured when an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the Hammad family home in the Al-Alami neighborhood in the Jabalia camp, in the north of the Gaza Strip. The precise number of victims remains unknown and the victims have not yet been identified.

On October 18th 2023, the Information Office of the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior and National Security reported on X/Twitter that the Hamad family home had been destroyed and a number of children had been killed in an incident that afternoon.

Many sources reported this incident including the Palestinian news agency Safa and the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior. Almost all sources repeated the same quote from the original post by the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior, with the exception of Al-Weeaam News Agency which used different language when it reported the incident on its website. In line with Airwars methodology, the civilian harm status of this incident has been assessed to be “Fair” because more than one source reported the incident with sufficiently different information. Three sources, Abdulrahman al Abaldeh, the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior and the Palestinian Information Centre posted multiple different photos of the incident on Facebook and X/Twitter.

Several news outlets and journalists shared images depicting Emergency Medical Services pulling up severely injured children from beneath the rubble. One image depicted the acute infrastructural damage caused by the attack, which completely collapsed the multi story building.

@aa_arabic shared a video on X/Twitter of Emergency Medical teams rushing dust covered children from an ambulance into a crowded hospital to receive treatment. The comment read “A new massacre in #Khan Yunis against the Hammad family, the majority of whom are children”. This source may not have referred to this incident as it described the incident taking place in Khan Yunis, which is a city in the southern Gaza Strip.

All sources reference “a number” of people were killed, “a majority” of whom were children; but the precise number is unclear. Images of the incident posted on X/Twitter and Facebook by Abdulrahman al Abaldeh, the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior and the Palestinian Information Centre show at least three different children who had been harmed.

Both the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior and Al-Waaeem news agency reported that the incident was caused by an Israeli Military aircraft.

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 incident occured in the afternoon.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 3
  • (1–2 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • 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 attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (15) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

    Source: Palestinian Ministry of Interior
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Ministry of Interior
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Ministry of Interior
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Journalist Abdulrahman al abaldeh
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the al Alami neighborhood (العلمي) in Jabalia (جباليا). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.537166, 34.500485.

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  • Imagery:
    @PalinfoAr

  • Imagery:
    @PalinfoAr

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 3
  • (1–2 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • 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 attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (15) [ collapse]