Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Around lunchtime on Friday, October 27, 2023, at least 20 civilians were killed and at least one child injured following an alleged Israeli bombardment on the Al-Majdalawi residence in the vicinity of Abu Ali Mustafa roundabout, possibly near the Falouja UNRWA School, in the Bir Al-Naja area in northern Gaza.
Some sources put the death toll as high as 30, with another seven under the rubble and reported likely killed.
The house, located near the Abu Ali Mustafa roundabout, was significantly damaged; a video from Twitter/X user @FTaneneh shows major destruction, with people carrying on bedsheets the wounded and deceased from under the rubble. A family member, Waleed al-Majdalawi, declared that in addition to the 26 members of the family who were killed, 11 people were still under the rubble. Similarly, Shehab Agency reported that in addition to the 26 recovered, 10 bodies remained under the rubble following the incident.
An urgent Facebook post from Ashraf al-Husseyni al-Khaleel reported that 30 people had been killed as a result of the strike.
All of the identified victims were members of the Al-Majdalawi family. Ages provided by the Ministry of Health differed slightly from the ages provided by the Shireen list. Of the 20 people identified as killed by family members on social media and through a private source, at least five were women and seven were children.
Mahmoud Hassan Mahmoud al-Majdalawi, 25 or 26-years-old, was killed, as was his 56 or 57-year-old cousin Abdul Karim Fathi Abdul Karim Al-Majdaalawi. Abdul Karim’s wife, who remains unnamed, was killed, as were four of his five children: 26 or 27-year-old Fathi Abdul Karim Fathi Al-Majdalawi, Muhammad Al-Majdalawi, 28-year-old Basma Abdul Karim Fathi Al-Majdalawi and 29-year-old Ilana Al-Majdalawi, whose age is unknown.
Several children were also killed: 14 or 15-year-old Wissam Ziyad Fathi al-Majdalawi, 17-year-old Nada Ziyad Fathi al-Majdalawi and 13 or 14-year-old Ahmed Ziyad Fathi al-Majdalawi, who were likely a set of siblings based on their names. Another likely set of siblings six-year-old Yahya Bilal Fathi al-Majdalawi, ten-year-old Waseem Bilal Fathi al-Majdalawi and 13-year-old Mirna Bilal Fathi al-Majdalawi were also killed in the incident.
Ayat Hassan Al-Tanani al-Majdalawi was killed with her two sons, Muhammad and Amir and her daughter, Tala.
A private source reported to Airwars that an eight-year-old girl named Mirvat Mohammed Youssef Al-Majdalawi had been injured in the incident after returning home for lunch in the middle of her school day. Shortly after arriving home, the neighbouring house, which belonged her uncle, was reportedly hit by an airstrike, collapsing onto her family home. Mirvat’s brother 11-year-old Ahmed Mohammed Youssef Al-Majdalawi was killed in the incident alongside many other relative who were in the affected homes. The private source reported that Mirvat’s father 36 or 37-year-old Mohammed Youssef Abdel Karim al-Majdalawi was also killed in the incident.
According to the private source, Mirvat said that she was buried under the rubble for a few minutes, her leg and hand visible. Once rescued from the rubble, Mirvat had sustained visible harm to her right cheek and left ankle. She may have broken her leg in multiple places but the source was not certain.
The source further explained that Mirvat was taken to Al-Shifa Hospital to be treated and was transferred to the European Hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip in mid-November following the Israeli Military campaign on Al-Shifa Hospital.
She was then taken to stay with an aunt in Rafah. Her two other brothers, three-year-old Omar and Youssef who is in Grade 1, survived the incident and were also placed in the care of relatives.
The extent of the destruction caused by the incident on October 27 was captured in video and online condolence posts. A video shared by Twitter/X user @2Elhob shows a mother making entreaties to the camera, clearly in distress.
A post on Facebook from Falastin Tanani expressed wishes for their cousin “Ayat and her three children” who had been killed and were now “in the hospitality of the Most Gracious.”
A condolence post from Facebook user Dina Mofeed described Basma and Ilana Al-Majdalawi as her “neighbors and childhood friends.”
Much of the remembrance, however, came from family members Amir al-Majdalawi and Waleed al-Majdalawi. Amir, Abdul Karim’s sole surviving child, studies medicine in Algeria. While he has received his medical certificate, it appears he has not yet started working as a doctor. His father’s dream was “to see him as a doctor” and would proudly refer to him as “Dr. Amir.”
Amir described Basma, who had turned 28 less than a month before her death, in a Facebook post. An Arabic teacher at an UNRWA school, Basma had studied the language at Al-Aqsa University and had passed her employment exams with a 97% mark. Eager to learn more, Basma had started another Bachelor’s degree in Islamic Sharia at the Hamouda Institute. Amir described her as “the first in her class.” Very interested in Islam, Amir remembered Basma would speak about the Quran as she walked around the house, quoting Hadiths she found particularly beautiful. She hoped, Amir wrote, to get a Masters degree in Islamic rhetoric. Amir further remembered how much Basma loved Nescafe and Torku chocolate, “coffee and books” and “knowledge and the pen.”
Mahmoud al-Majdalawi was said to have “loved fishing,” and enjoyed his life with “a lot of fun and laughter.” An avid bird hunter and raiser, Mahmoud had built a small hut to take care of his birds. He was “not only loved by his family, but everyone who knew him loved him and testified to his good character.” His brother Waleed al-Majdalawi posted a picture on Facebook of Mahmoud with his two-year-old daughter, Amira, and lamented that he would never be able to see her grow up, which was “his only dream.” Waleed remembered him as “mischievous,” “cheerful” and loved by everyone.
Where possible, names have been reconciled with published Palestinian Ministry of Health lists. With thanks to journalist Alexandre Horn from CheckNews for identifying relevant sources, and Data Tech for Palestine for centralising the datasets.
Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli Forces.
The incident occured in the afternoon.
The victims were named as:
Family members (1)
Family members (6)
Family members (6)
Family members (4)
Family members (3)
Family members (1)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of Bir Al Na’jah (بئر النعجة) to the north of Jabalia (جباليا). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to find boundaries for the neighbourhood and to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Bir Al Na’jah are: 31.541901, 34.488035.
Summary
Sources (44) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (26) [ collapse]
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Source: @Palestin_01 -
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Source: @Yasser_Gaza -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Journalist fahad abu mustafa -
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Source: Mohamaed saleh -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Amir almajdalawi -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: Waleed al majdalawi -
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Source: @GazaMartyrs -
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Source: @tevfik_hams -
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