Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0602

Incident date

October 25, 2023

Location

عمارة الهليس قرب مستشفى القدس جنوب مدينة غزة, Al-Halees building near Al-Quds Hospital, south of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.505833, 34.430556 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At dawn on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, a young woman, Samira Samir Mahmoud al-Halis and her younger brother, Amr (Amaro) Samir Mahmoud al-Halis were killed along with seven other civilians, and fifteen civilians were reportedly injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Al-Halees Building located near the Al-Quds Hospital, south of Gaza City.

According to a Shehab Agency correspondent, up to nine people were killed in the incident, with 15 more being injured. Other Twitter/X users corroborated this information, sharing the same death and injury toll. Raya FM shared an image along with news of the incident depicting a medic carrying a toddler rescued from the rubble.

Following news of the incident, friends and family took to social media to mourn the loss of their loved ones. Facebook user Rami Samier Alhalis shared how he lost his 17-year-old brother, Amr Samir al-Halis, and his 20-year-old sister Samira Samir al-Halis, a  pharmacist. He also shared an image of the late Amr, a smiling young boy dressed in a white shirt and beige trousers sitting on a couch in a cafe.

Mahmoud S Qudaih shared his condolences with Abu Mahmoud Samir al-Halis, the father of Samira and Amr, in a Facebook post. In the post, Mahmoud asked that God “bless his dear friend” and “grant the highest Paradise” to those killed in the incident.

In another post, Facebook user Awni al-Wadiya shared that he had been one of those injured in the incident, stating that by God’s grace, he survived the “brutal bombing” of the Al-Halis building in Tal Al-Hawa.

The names of the victims have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Since October 26, 2023, the MoH has released six lists, along with an additional list of medical professionals, which was released on September 17, 2024. Airwars matches individuals to the first list where their names appeared. In regard to this incident, most of the names were matched to the first “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza”, which was released on October 26, 2023.

The identities of other victims are not known at the time of writing.

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

The incident occured around dawn.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Amr (Amaro) Samir Mahmoud al-Halis عمرو سمير الهليس
17 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 424307999
Samira Samir Mahmoud al-Halis سميرة سمير الهليس
20 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 408450260

The victims were named as:

Awni al-Wadiya عوني الواديه
Adult male injured

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of al-Quds Hospital (الهلال الأحمر ومستشفى القدس) in Gaza City (مدينة غزة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.505833, 34.430556. 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
  • Infrastructure
    Apartment Building, Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 9
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    15
  • 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.
  • Impact
    Healthcare
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.

Sources (24) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (10) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ahmad213130
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @NEWS24_KW
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

    Source: Ma22ba
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

    Source: Bashaah

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Infrastructure
    Apartment Building, Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 9
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    15
  • 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.
  • Impact
    Healthcare
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.

Sources (24) [ collapse]