Airwars assessment
On either late October 19th or the early hours of October 20th, between 14 and 28 people were killed and others were injured when the house of the Eliwa family, in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, south of Gaza City was bombed in an alleged Israeli airstrike.
Palinfo reported that people were killed and injured and that “homes, roads and a prayer hall” were bombed in the vicinity of Street 8 in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood. Al Arabiya reported in a post on Twitter/X that a church was also bombed.
Eight civilian victims were identified by name. Three victims were reportedly killed alongside their families and children – in line with Airwars’ methodology, the minimum number of civilians killed has therefore been recorded as 14. A family member, Hazem Eliwa, reported that 22 victims had been killed. A witness in a video posted by Al-Arabiya reported that 28 bodies had been recovered from the site and more remained buried under the rubble. A tweet from @palestineultra also identified other “wounded” individuals as a result from the strike but did not provide an exact toll.
Samir Kanaan shared a post, mourning the loss of his family and friends: 52-year-old Nidal Masoud Hameed Eliwa (also known as Abu Hamed) and his family, Abu Amer and his family, the wife of Mustafa and their children, as well as the wife of Mohammed Saleem and the son of Ahmed Saleem.
The Zaytoun Group identified 52-year-old Taysir Musa Ibrahim Ishteiwi (also known as Abu Hamza) and his wife as further casualties in the incident.
In a message of grief on Facebook, Mostafa al-Shahmi reported that his cousin Walid Omar Shaaba had passed away and posted a picture of Walid from when he was alive.
Ola Khabbas mourned the death of another victim, Muhammed Shaana (Abu Hamed) in a tribute to him, which stated, “You were our hope… the pearl of our dreams…” In another post, Ola said, “You left us, but your spirit lives in our hearts and all our souls.” Images posted by Ola in a slideshow showed Muhammed Shaana carrying a weapon and wearing uniform. The slideshow included images of a flag of the militant Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in a cemetery. Airwars has therefore classified Muhammed Shaana as a militant.
In a video posted by Al-Arabiya on Twitter, civilians interviewed at the scene said that a mosque and church with women and children inside had been hit and that 28 bodies had already been recovered. Video footage showed civilians digging through rubble in a large crater, searching for victims. The minaret of a mosque and a church spire can be seen in the background.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
Where possible, names have been reconciled with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities published on October 26, 2023.
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 local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (3)
Family members (3)
Family members (3)
Family members (2)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (20) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]
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