Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0392

Incident date

October 20, 2023

Location

خانيونس, Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.336273, 34.319926 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Province/governorate level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On October 20th 2023, between 18 and 22 civilians – including women and children – all members of the ‘Abu Al-Naja’ family were killed, and between 79 and 114 others were injured after an alleged Israeli airstrike on their residential home in the Abu-Shahla neighbourhood in east Khan Yunis, Gaza. It has been reported that the house was subject to an airstrike whilst the residents were asleep.

@ShehabAgency reported that the Abu Al-Naja household was one of six residential homes struck by the Israeli military in the Khan Yunis Governorate. Ambulance and civil defence crews were on-site to take those killed and wounded to Nasser Medical Hospital. The grandparents of the family, Khaled Mahmoud Abu Al-Naja, and his wife Muzain Musa Abu Al-Naja were killed during the alleged strike, along with their five children: Hani Khaled Abu Al-Naja (son), Khalil Khaled Abu Al-Naja (son), Jana Khaled Abu Al-Naja (daughter), Nancy Khaled Abu Al-Naja (daughter) and Hanaa Khaled Abu Al-Naja (daughter). The alleged strike also killed the husband of Hanaa Abu Al-Naja, Suleiman Mahmoud Abu Rock, and the wife of Hani Abu Al-Naja, Israa Al-Muzain.

There were also nine grandchildren of Khaled Abu Al-Naja and Muzain Abu Al-Naja killed during the alleged strike. Six children of Hani Abu Al-Naja and Israa Al-Muzain were killed: Khaled (son), Ahmed (son), Muhannad (son), Rand (daughter) Rawand (daughter) and Raghad (daughter). Two children of Hanaa Abu Al-Naja and Suleiman Mahmoud Abu Rock were killed: Remas (daughter) and Mahmoud (son). The daughter of Nancy Khaled Abu Al-Naja, Toleen (daughter), was also killed during the alleged airstrike.

Since the incident, family members have posted tributes online. Marwa Mohammed Naja, the great niece of Muzain Musa Abu Al-Naja, commiserated the death of her great aunt, and Khaled Mahmoud Abu Al-Naja along with the other “22 people in the house”. These sentiments were echoed by Waam Younes Abu Al-Naja, the niece of Muzain Musa Abu Al-Naja, in a Facebook post that states that more than 20 members of the Abu Al-Naja family were killed during the alleged airstrike. However, the @AbuAl-NajaFamilyGatheringOfficial Facebook post states that 18 members of the family were killed during the alleged Israeli airstrike.

There has also been an outpouring of tributes via Facebook from the cousins of Suleiman Mahmoud Abu Rock, among whom include Ahmad Abu Rok, Ola N. Reck, Deya Abu Rouk and Raed Rouk, Zakrua Haesan Rok. The former neighbour of Suleiman Mahmoud Abu Rock, Wael Abdelaziz Alnaka, expressed his regret at the death of Suleiman and his wife Hanaa along with their two children.

@ShehabAgency initially reported that 34 injuries resulted from the recent attacks on Khan Yunis, then raised the number to 51, and ultimately reported the number of 79 injuries. However, it is unclear how many injuries occurred amongst this incident. @PalinfoAr put the number of injuries at 114, and images posted by @ShehabAgency show at least three children being treated for injuries in a medical facility.

At least 20 members of an “Al Naja” family were also reported killed in an incident three days prior, recorded in Airwars’ archive in ISPT0298.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.

Where possible, Airwars has matched names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.

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 during the night.

The victims were named as:

Family members (18)

Khaled Mahmoud Abu Al-Naja خالد محمود أبو النجا
Adult male killed
Muzain (Mazeen) Musa Abu Al-Naja مزين موسى ابو نجا
57 years old female Khaled's wife killed Matched to MoH ID 914650809
Hani Khaled Abu Al-Naja هاني خالد أبو النجا
Adult male Khaled and Muzain's child killed
Israa Al-Muzain اسراء المزين
Adult female Hani's wife killed
Khaled  خالد
Child male Hani and Israa's child killed
Ahmad أحمد
Child male Hani and Israa's child killed
Muhannad  مهند
Child male Hani and Israa's child killed
Rand رند
Child female Hani and Israa's child killed
Rawand روند
Child female Hani and Israa's child killed
Raghad  رغد
Child female Hani and Israa's child killed
Khalil Khaled Abu Al-Naja خليل خالد أبو النجا
Adult male Khaled and Muzain's child killed
Jana Khaled Abu Al-Naja جنى خالد أبو النجا
Adult female Khaled and Muzain's child killed
Nancy Khaled Abu Al-Naja نانسي خالد أبو النجا
Adult female Khaled and Muzain's child killed
Toleen  تولين
Child female Nancy's child killed
Hanaa Khaled Abu Al-Naja  هناء خالد أبو النجا
Adult female Khaled and Muzain's child killed
Suleiman Mahmoud Abu Rock سليمان محمود ابو روك
Adult male Hanaa's husband killed
Remas  ريماس
Child male Hanaa and Suleiman's child killed
Mahmoud  محمود
Child male Hanaa and Suleiman's child killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    18 – 22
  • (9 children5 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    79–114
  • 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 (40) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (46) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahmad Abu Rok

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahmad Abu Rok

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahmad Abu Rok

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Deya Abo Rouk

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Zakrua Haesan Rok

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Raed Rouk

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Wael Abdelaziz Alnaka

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahmed Atef Abu Rock

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Said Harfouchi

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Foad Alraqab Abu Motaz

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Foad Alraqab Abu Motaz

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hamade Abu Alnaja

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Fayez Abu Alnaja

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abbas Al-Am

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abbas Al-Am

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abbas Al-Am

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abbas Al-Am

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abbas Al-Am

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abbas Al-Am

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abbas Al-Am

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abbas Al-Am

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abbas Al-Am

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Malek Abu Naja

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Malek Abu Naja

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ma’an and East Khan Younis Families

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Alnaja Family Gathering Official

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the Khan Younis governorate (محافظة خانيونس), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.336273, 34.319926. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

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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
    Residential building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    18 – 22
  • (9 children5 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    79–114
  • 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 (40) [ collapse]