Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0406

Incident date

October 20, 2023

Location

محيط مسجد الرحمن, Vicinity of Al Rahman Mosque, Deir Al Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.426777, 34.342275 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On October 20th, 2023, at least two civilians were killed – one woman and one girl, both from the al-Silak family – by an alleged Israeli airstrike near Al-Rahman Mosque in the Al-Maskar area in Deir Al-Balah.

The victims were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

@ShehabAgency and @F24online reported three victims of the bombing, among which one woman and one girl, while other sources claimed the victims to be two “female martyrs”, without indicating their name or age. A post from Merym reported that up until that point, the Al-Silak family had lost 13 members since the beginning of the campaign.

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

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Al Silak family member فرد من عائلة السلك
Adult female killed
Al Silak family member فرد من عائلة السلك
Child female killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of Al Rahman Mosque (مسجد الرحمن) to the west of Deir al Balah (دير البلح), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.426777, 34.342275. 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 harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 3
  • (1 child1–2 women)
  • 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 (17) [ collapse]

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 harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 3
  • (1 child1–2 women)
  • 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 (17) [ collapse]