Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0538

Incident date

October 24, 2023

Location

القرارة, Al Qarara, Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.371329, 34.335281 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At dawn on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, nine civilians were reportedly killed, including five children, three women and one man, and 10 others were injured, as a result of an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Al-Abadla family home in the Al Qarara area, north of Khan Younis, in the central Gaza Strip. Many sources including Al-Buruj Al Buruj, Samarah Shihabi, @abbaschamsuddin and Thaer Alhasani post reported that 10 people had been killed and reported the names of the victims, one of whom was a militant.

The militant killed was identified as Muhammad Fayez al-Hassani (Abu Mohammed), a military commander in the Al-Quds Brigades – the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist organisation Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The civilians killed included his al-Hassani’s wife, 29-year-old Zahraa Hazem al-Abadla, and their daughters – 8-year-old Batoul Muhammad Fayez al-Hassani and 1-year-old Yara Muhammad Fayez al-Hassani. The two sisters of Muhammad Fayez al-Hassani were also reportedly killed, 19-year-old Rand Fayez al-Hassani and 25-year-old Rawand Fayez al-Hassani, along with Rawand Fayez al-Hassani’s family, including her husband Muhammad al-Atl (possibly aged 31), their two sons four-year-old Hammam Muhammad al-Atl and Aws Muhammad al-Atl, who was an infant less than a year old, and their two-year-old daughter Ward Muhammad al-Atl.

A relative of Zahraa’s called Afaf Khalid Alagha reported that three individuals referred to as “Omar, Ahmed and their uncle” were injured in the incident. Based on this description, Omar and Ahmed were assumed to be children by Airwars. This will be updated if more details come to light regarding their age.

Rafah Service reported that 10 victims were transported to Nasser Hospital. Multiple other sources also reported that 10 victims had been recovered but missing people continued to be searched for under the rubble of the destroyed house.

Friends and relatives posted heartfelt tributes to the victims on social media, alongside images of them from before the incident. Mohammad al-Attar al-Obodi, in a tribute post on Facebook, reported that Mohammed Fayez al-Hassani was a journalist. Many posts mourned two-year-old Ward, including images of the smiling toddler and remembering her birthday several months prior, full of “moments of joy.”

The house reportedly belonged to Hazem al-Abadla, also known as Abu Mohammed.

@AMIRA_DAH posted images on Twitter/X reportedly showing the destruction of the house of the al-Abadla family, and stated that 10 civilians had been injured to varying degrees while the Palestinian Press Agency reported “no injuries”. Al-Qarara Pulse posted images on Facebook showing civilians, Civil Defense and medical personnel removing victims from the sandy rubble and carrying them into an ambulance.

The names of all identified victims have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26, 2023.

When sources identified a belligerent, they attributed the strike to Israeli forces.

The incident occured around dawn.

The victims were named as:

Family members (9)

Zahraa Hazem Abd al-Abadla زهراء حازم عبد العبادلة
29 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 400221586
Batoul Muhammad Fayez al-Hassani بتول محمد فايز الحسني
8 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 436071260
Yara Muhammad Fayez al-Hassani يارا محمد فايز الحسني
1 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 445653660
Rand Fayez al-Hassani رند فايز الحسني
19 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 420396582
Rawand Fayez al-Hassani روند فايز الحسني
25 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 404312787
Muhammad al-Atll محمد العطل
31 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 803898311
Hammam Muhammad Hussein al-Atl همام محمد حسين العطل
4 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 442274007
Aws Muhammad Hussein al-Atl أوس محمد حسين العطل
0.6 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 444370084
Ward Muhammad Hussein al-Atl ورد محمد حسين العطل
2 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 442867750

Family members (3)

Omar عمر
Age unknown male injured
Ahmed أحمد
Age unknown male injured
Uncle of Omar and Ahmed (Unnamed) عم عمر وأحمد
Adult male injured

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Al Qarara (القرارة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.371329, 34.335281. 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
    9
  • (5 children3 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • 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
  • Suspected target
    Palestinian Forces
  • Belligerents reported killed
    1

Sources (25) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (27) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Al-Qarara Pulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al-Qarara Pulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al-Qarara Pulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al-Qarara Pulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al-Qarara Pulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al-Qarara Pulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al-Qarara Pulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al-Qarara Pulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al-Qarara Pulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Mohammad Al-Attar Al-Obodi
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    Source: Ibraheem Jawad
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    Source: Mona Allah
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Nour Z Thabet
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ali Alarabi Al-Ahwazi
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  • 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
    9
  • (5 children3 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • 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
  • Suspected target
    Palestinian Forces
  • Belligerents reported killed
    1

Sources (25) [ collapse]