Incident Code

ISPT0557

Location

مسجد علي بن أبي طالب، رفح, Vicinity of Ali Mosque, Rafah, Rafah, Palestinian territories

Geolocation

31.290003, 34.247267
Accuracy: Nearby landmark

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: January 28, 2025

At least one person was killed and dozens were injured on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, after an alleged Israeli military aircraft reportedly struck the Al-Halqawi family home next to Rabaa Shahida School and in the vicinity of the Ali Mosque in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

Shehab Agency initially reported the incident but did not mention civilian injuries or casualties. Safa.ps would later claim that there were “martyrs and injured”. The X/Twitter account @alrayps and the Facebook user Mohammed Refat Farhat both declared the number of injured civilians was in the dozens, including serious injuries, with Mohammed Refat Farhat identifying only one “martyr” killed.

Wesam Rekhawi, who was injured in the attack, recounted his personal experience of the alleged strike in a Facebook post: “Praise be to God who saved me from death after the cowardly enemy targeted the house of my esteemed neighbors, the Al-Halaqawi family, which led to my injuries to my feet and hands, and tomorrow I will undergo surgery on my left foot.”

The Facebook user Sumayya Umm Sohaib posted a video showing a man bleeding and in significant pain along with a young boy, also bleeding, being carried on a single stretcher to receive treatment outside of what the user identifies as the Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Rafah. At least two other injured people can be seen in the video. A different user, Faras Abu Shrkh, uploaded several photographs showing injured individuals arriving on stretchers and receiving treatment in what seems to be the same location. Two of these civilians can be seen in both the video and some of the photographs. However, as these images were included in another incident which occurred near Ali Mosque on the same day, it is unclear if the injuries occurred in this incident.

No publicly available information regarding the reportedly deceased individuals was available.

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

Victims

Invidivuals

Wesam Rekhawi
Adult male injured

Key Information

Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike
Strike Status
Likely strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
1–2
Civilians reported injured
12–24
1 Child, 1 Man

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of Ali Mosque (مسجد علي بن أبي طالب) in Rafah City (رفح), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.290003, 34.247267. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

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

Media From Sources (8)