Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0420

Incident date

October 21, 2023

Location

منزل الصحفي  هاني المدهون, home of journalist Hani Al-Madhoun, Gaza strip, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Airwars assessment

At dawn on Saturday, October 21st 2023, the home of Hani Al-Madhoun, a Palestinian journalist who worked for Al-Aqsa TV, was allegedly hit by an Israeli airstrike, killing Hani Al-Madhoun alongside 11 members of his immediate family.

Sources on social media posted the names of the relatives of 59-year old Hani Al-Madhoun, also known as Abu Ibrahim: his wife, 55-year-old Samira Fouad Hassan Al-Madhoun, their sons, 25-year-old Ahmed Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, 23-year-old Fadi Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, 16-year-old Uday Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, 27-year-old Muhammad Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, 29-year-old Sameh Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, and 17-year-old daughter Mennat allah Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun. 27-year-old Nariman Hatem Rabhi Al-Madhoun, the wife of Muhammad Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, is reported to have also been killed, alongside her sister, 23-year-old Nagham Hatem Rabhi Al-Madhoun. According to available reports, Nagham was married to Sameh, and their children, two-year-old Najwa Sameh Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun and three-year-old Islam Sameh Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun were killed in the same bombing.

Reporting on this event in a post shared on X on October 21st, the Palestinian organization Shehab News Agency announced that the Al-Aqsa Satellite Channel had confirmed the death of Hani Al-Madhoun and his wife, children and grandchildren earlier that morning when their house was reportedly hit by Israeli forces.

Family members and friends posted heartfelt tributes to Hani and his family, expressed their distress at the incident and offered condolences to grieving extended family members.

On October 21st, Facebook user Ameer Halawa shared a series of photographs reportedly showing the aftermath of this strike. One image showed a heavily damaged building and another image showed three children who had been killed. The final photograph showed the body bags of the 12 victims positioned in a line in front of a crowd of praying mourners.

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

All names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 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 incident occured around dawn.

The victims were named as:

Family members (12)

Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun هاني إبراهيم المدهون
59 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 992941831
Samira Fouad Hassan Al-Madhoun سميرة فؤاد حسن المدهون
55 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 909905457
Ahmed Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun أحمد هاني إبراهيم المدهون
25 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 404277030
Fadi Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun فادي هاني إبراهيم المدهون
23 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 407020528
Mennat allah Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun منة الله هاني إبراهيم المدهون
17 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 422787002
Uday Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun عدي هاني إبراهيم المدهون
16 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 422350249
Muhammad Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun محمد هاني إبراهيم المدهون
27 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 401849351
Nariman Hatem Rabhi Al-Madhoun ناريمان حاتم ربحي المدهون
23 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 406987818
Sameh Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun سامح هاني إبراهيم المدهون
29 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 804773729
Nagham Hatem Rabhi Al-Madhoun نغم حاتم ربحي المدهون
27 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 401250766
Najwa Sameh Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun نجوى سامح هاني إبراهيم المدهون
2 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 445465347
Islam Sameh Hani Ibrahim Al-Madhoun إسلام سامح هاني إبراهيم المدهون
3 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 443127824

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12
  • (4 children3 women5 men1 journalist)
  • 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 (24) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (19) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Nabd news
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @qudsn
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @mohamed_mdn
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @mohamed_mdn
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Mohamedsa2ed1
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SyriawatanNews
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Anas
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ameer.halawa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ameer.halawa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ameer.halawa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mahmoud
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sharif
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohamdmdn
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohamdmdn
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Elmadhounps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Elmadhounps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Eid
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Jscommittee
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Um mazen

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12
  • (4 children3 women5 men1 journalist)
  • 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 (24) [ collapse]