Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0382

Incident date

October 19, 2023

Location

عبسان الجديده, Abasan Al-Jadida, Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.340546, 34.344112 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On Thursday October 19th, 2023, four brothers were killed as a result of an alleged Israeli bombing on a house belonging to the Abu ‘Anzah family in New Abasan/Abasan Al-Jadida, east of Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip.

Local sources including the Palestinian news agency, Safa, and Quds news agency reported that a number of people had died in the bombing, while journalist Ahmad Qudeih and Twitter/X user @jolnarfarag identified the four brothers as 42-year-old Musab Youssef Ahmad Mahmoud Abu ‘Anzah, 40-year-old Hossam Youssef Ahmad Mahmoud Abu ‘Anzah, 45-year-old Ishaq Youssef Ahmad Mahmoud Abu ‘Anzah, and 38-year-old Osama Youssef Ahmad Mahmoud Abu ‘Anzah.

Relatives of the brothers Rasha and Rana Abu Taima attributed the strike to Israel in their posts about the incident.

Reporting their deaths and paying tribute to the brothers, Fathi Hamada Abu Nusaira, the husband of the victims’ sister, wrote in a post on Facebook “I have never considered you to be our in-laws. You were my brothers”.

Fathi Hamada Abu Nusaira and Yousef Abu Ghana’s posts included images of the four men from before the incident, and Abod Abu Rahaf posted a video on Facebook of a dust and smoke cloud rising over Abasan Al-Jadida following the alleged incident.

The names of the victims killed have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.

When sources identified a belligerent they all attributed the strike to Israeli forces.

The incident occured at approximately 3:20 pm local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (4)

Musab Youssef (Ahmad Mahmoud) Abu ‘Anzah مصعب يوسف أحمد محمود أبو عنزة
42 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 906629498
Hossam Youssef (Ahmad Mahmoud) Abu ‘Anzah حسام يوسف أحمد محمود أبو عنزة
40 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 926752957
Ishaq Youssef (Ahmad Mahmoud) Abu ‘Anzah إسحاق يوسف أحمد محمود أبو عنزة
45 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 900634684
Osama Youssef (Ahmad Mahmoud) Abu ‘Anzah أسامة يوسف أحمد محمود أبو عنزة
38 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 801302696

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Abasan Al-Jadida (عبسان الجديده), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.340546, 34.344112. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (4 men)
  • 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 (15) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Fathi Hamada Abu Nusaira
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hazifa qudeih abu mujahid
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hazifa qudeih abu mujahid
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hamada Abu Anza
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: God’s willing
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Yousef abu ghanza
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Yousef abu ghanza
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Yousef abu ghanza
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp, Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (4 men)
  • 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 (15) [ collapse]