Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0496

Incident date

October 23, 2023

Location

عبسان الكبيرة, Abasan Al Kabira, Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.323417, 34.347364 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Shortly before 7:06 AM on Monday, October 23rd 2023, six members of the Abu Daqqa family were killed and a number of civilians were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on their home in Abasan al-Kabira, in the Gaza Strip. The names of the family members were 63-year-old Faisal Hassan Abu Daqqa, 43-year-old Shehada Faisal Abu Daqqa, 30-year-old Saqr Faisal Abu Daqqa, 36-year-old Khaled Sharif Abu Daqqa, 38-year-old Husam Ahmad Muhammad Abu Daqa and Alaa Sharif Abu Daqqa. One source reported that Shehada’s wife, whose name was not given, was seriously injured as well.

That day, multiple Twitter/X accounts, including @ShehabAgency and @AthabatNetwork, announced: “4 martyrs when occupation aircraft bombed a house for the Abu Daqqa family in Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis.”

The same day, Facebook user Maysa Yahya Abo Daga shared a video with the caption “[“Israeli forces] killed my entire family …[”] A message in English from a member of the Abu Daqqa family that has said goodbye to more than 15 martyrs since the battle of Toofan Al-Aqsa.” In this clip, a crowd is gathered around an ambulance and at the center, a man passionately speaks into a camera in English, explaining “All my family – father, mother, brothers – …all died…Abu Daqqa family.”

Videos taken in front of the Nasser Hospital Morgue in Khan Younis show people, including healthcare workers and mourners, gathered in front of a line of white body bags and subsequently loading the bodies into a vehicle. One of the videos, posted on Facebook by Mariam Abu Dagga, features a caption that says, “The sons of the Abu Daqqa family, may God have mercy on them 💔.” Another video posted to Facebook by user al-kabira abasan includes a caption saying, “Moons from the Abu Daqqa family.”

Others on social media honoured those killed by sharing photos of the men when they were alive. For example, on Facebook, Alshrqea.shaml and Abssan.alkabira posted a collage of the four men, with one of them smiling in front of a blossoming tree and another shown holding two happy children. Facebook user Meera Nabil also shared photos of the victims from when they were still living and wrote, “The moons of the Capricorn family that rose today 🇵🇸 💔 Oh God, have mercy on them, forgive them and accept them among the martyrs, O Lord…To the heavens of eternity 💔💔.”

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

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.

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 at approximately 7:06 am local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (7)

Faisal Hassan Abu Daqqa فيصل حسن ابو دقة
63 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 945575157
Shehada Faisal Abu Daqqa شحادة فيصل أبو دقة
40 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 926665498
Saqr Faisal Abu Daqqa صقر فيصل أبو دقة
30 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 803886753
Khaled Sharif Abu Daqqa خالد شريف ابو دقة
36 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 800732398
Alaa Sharif Abu Daqqa علاء شريف أبو دقة
Adult male killed
Shehada’s wife
Adult female injured
Husam Ahmad Muhammad Abu Daqa حسام احمد محمد ابو دقه
38 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 413323007

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Abasan Al Kabira (عبسان الكبيرة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.323417, 34.347364. 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 building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (6 men)
  • 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 (36) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (20) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: ahmed2dagga
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Hiyam Barham Abu Daqqa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hiyam Barham Abu Daqqa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hiyam Barham Abu Daqqa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hiyam Barham Abu Daqqa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • 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 building
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (6 men)
  • 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 (36) [ collapse]