Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0468

Incident date

October 22, 2023

Location

مستشفى الشفاء, مدينة غزة, Vicinity of Al Shifa Medical Complex, Gaza city, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.52429, 34.442889 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On October 22nd 2023, at least three people were killed and others were wounded by an alleged Israeli airstrike which hit the Abdel Latif family home on Aidiya Street, behind Al Shifa Medical Complex in the Al Nasr area of the Northern Gaza Strip.

The three casualties were all identified as members of the Akila family. Fatima Tawfiq al-Jaja Akila was killed, as were mother Zahra Ahmed al-Jaja Akila and daughter Fatima Kamel Akila.

Friends and relatives took to social media to memorialize their loved ones. Ahmed Nayef Shaw stated that Fatima had been like “a tender mother to us all.”

Mohammed Al-Jaja, the nephew of Fatima Tawfiq Al-Jaja Akila, shared a post on Facebook announcing the deaths and describing his aunt as “kind and patient.” He prayed that the family be sent “to a paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth.” Mohammad included an image of a toddler covered in dust, possibly the young Fatima, who appears to have been killed.

Several posts on social media, such as @alosbou on X/Twitter, alleged other civilians had been injured during the bombing of Abdul Latiff’s house, but no other information has been made clear.

Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of names of victims, released October 26th 2023.

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

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)

Fatima Tawfiq Al-Jaja Akila فاطمة توفيق الجاجة عكيلة
67 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 927951061
Zahra Ahmed Al-Jaja Akila زهراء احمد الجاجة
39 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 800370363
Fatima Kamel Akila فاطمة كامل عكيلة
Child female killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of  the Al Shifa medical complex (مستشفى الشفاء) in Gaza city (مدينة غزة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.52429, 34.442889. 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
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (1 child2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (15) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohammed Al Jaja
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (1 child2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (15) [ collapse]