Between six and ten civilians were reported killed, including at least one member of the Palestinian Civil Defense and five children, when alleged Israeli missiles struck a Palestinian Civil Defense facility alongside the Dahir family home on October 21st, 2023. A number of other civilians, including Palestinian Civil Defense members, were also injured.
The incident took place near the Khirbet Al-Adas junction, east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning.
Muhammad Fawzi Qtait also known as Abu Jazar (father of Jazar) was named as the Palestinian Civil Defense paramedic and firefighter killed in the strike. He was reported to be from Ma’an, Khan Yunis.
In a post from the Dhuhair family, it was reported that eight members of the family were killed including five children. The names were identified as: Ayman Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir, Iman Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir, Andalus Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir, Aws Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir and another child Elias Anas Muhammad Hamad Dhahir.
Family members named as mourning the victims – though not present during the strike – included grandmother Nabila, Elias’ parents, Anas Dhahir and Hanin Saleh Zorob, and Ayman, Iman, Andalus and Aws’ father Islam Muhammad Hamad Duhair. Aws’ kindergarten, Baraem Al Tofoula Model Kindergarten, made a post announcing his death and expressing their deep sorrow.
The Ministry of the Interior and the Directorate of the Civil Defense in Gaza reported the death of Muhammad Qtait and the injury of at least four other Civil Defense members, while source Adnan Ghanima reported in a tweet that six members were seriously injured. According to Masdar Al Akhbariya, 11 Civil Defense workers were injured and three were in serious condition. A post from the Rafah Municipality reported several deaths and injuries among Civil Defense members and civilians. The casualty range for those injured is therefore put at 4-11.
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.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli airplanes.