Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0701

Incident date

October 29, 2023

Location

البريج, Al-Bureij, Deir Al Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.437934, 34.403857 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Shortly before 6:33 PM on Monday, 29th October 2023, at least nine identified civilians, including at least three women and four children, were reportedly killed and a number of civilians were injured when an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the home of the Ghanem family in Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Shehab News Agency was one of multiple sources reporting that at least 10 people were killed in the alleged Israeli attack. Shehab News Agency and other sources also reported that a number of people were injured, and Twitter/X user @ehabomar21 wrote that homes around the Ghanem family home were severely damaged.

Social media testimonies by family and friends helped to ascertain the names of some victims of the deadly attack. 71-year-old Khaled Mustafa Muhammad Ghanem (Abu Muhammad) and his 60-year-old wife Hanaa Muhammad Ali Ghanem (Umm Muhammad) were killed alongside their 19-year-old son Ahmed Khaled Ghanem and their daughter Khoulod Khaled Ziadeh Ghanem.  Khoulod’s son Muhammad Khaled Ghanem and her daughter Lynn Khaled Ghanem were injured.

The attack also took the lives of three children. Two-year-old Muhammad’s daughter, Dima Muhammad Ghanem was also killed, as well as the two children of Khoulod, 18-year-old daughter Mennat Allah Khaled Shaaban Ziadeh and one-and-half-year-old son Shabaan Khaled Shaaban Ziadeh. Also, a child Musab was mentioned among the victims killed, according to the post by Em Nezam Aljamal. The final named victim of the alleged attack was Diaa Ali Ghanem.

A Facebook post from Saad Ziada, a brother of Khaled, Kholoud’s husband, gave more information on the family in his testimony. According to Saad Ziada’s post, Shaaban Khaled Ziadeh was only one-and-a-half years old, while his elder sister Mennat Ziadeh was in her first year of university. He attached an image of a young woman in a university uniform, presumably Mennat, and one of a small child.

Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released on October 26th, 2023.

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

The incident occured at approximately 6:33 pm local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (11)

Khaled Mustafa Muhammad Ghanem خالد غانم
71 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 923539258
Hanaa Muhammad Ali Ghanem هناء جاد الله غانم
60 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 941233207
Ahmed Khaled Mustafa Ghanem احمد خالد غانم
19 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 421086489
Dima Muhammad Ghanem ديمة محمد غانم
2 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 444427934
Khoulod Khaled Ziadeh Ghanem خلود خالد غانم
Adult female killed
Mennat Allah Khaled Shaaban Ziadeh منة الله خالد شعبان زياده
18 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 422516922
Shaaban Khaled Shaaban Ziadeh d, شعبان خالد شعبان زياده
2 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 442814919
Diaa Ali Ghanem
killed
Musab مصعب
Child male killed
Lynn Khaled Ghanem لين خالد غانم
female injured
Muhammad Khaled Ghanem محمد خالد غانم
male injured

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Bureij (البريج), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.437934, 34.403857. 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
    Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    9
  • (4 children2 women3 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 (16) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Fatima's profession
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Fatima's profession
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

    Source: Saad Ziada

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Infrastructure
    Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    9
  • (4 children2 women3 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 (16) [ collapse]