Airwars assessment
Around midnight on September 7, 2024, a declared Israeli strike with two missiles on the tents for displaced people who were sheltering at the Hamlia Al Sa’dia school in Jabalia Al-Nazla in the northern Gaza Strip resulted in at least four civilian deaths, including a woman, and injuries of 15 to 19 civilians.
The incident was extensively covered online by news outlets and social media users. Safa News was the first to report the event at 00:12, writing about injuries resulting from the attack on the school. At 00:41 the news agency reported about four civilians killed and 19 injured. Other news outlets also reported on the incident. Echo of Palestine stated, “Press coverage | A number of people were injured when a classroom was targeted inside Halima Al-Sadia School in Jabalia Al-Nazla, north of the Gaza Strip.” Al Jazeera reported, “4 martyrs and 19 injured as a result of the shelling targeting the tents of the displaced at Halima Al-Sadia School in Jabalia Al-Nazla, north of Gaza.” Other sources, including @swilkinsonbc and multiple sources quoting WAFA News, placed the number of killed at eight.
Social media users shared information about the incident online and also shared the names of the four civilians who died during the attack. Imad Abu Awkal shared a video on Facebook showing the aftermath of the attack and the deceased civilians. He also added, “Martyrs and wounded as a result of the occupation targeting Halima Al-Sadia School, which shelters displaced people in Jabalia Al-Nazla, north of Gaza: 1) Hamza Muhammad Ahmed Khala (Abu Al-Nour), 2) Maysara Ahmad Abdel Khaleq Khala, 3) Mahmoud Hamdi Khala (Abu Al-Nour).”
Another online post by Jabalia City Revolution provided more information about the incident by adding the names of all four deceased civilians: “A tent sheltering displaced people in Halima Al-Sadia School in Jabalia Al-Nazla was targeted. The martyrs are: Hamza Muhammad Khala, Maysara Ahmad Khala, Mahmoud Hamdi Khala, and Abeer Muhammad Abu Warda (Khala).”
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on their official Telegram channel that “A short while ago, with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command and control center. The command and control center was embedded inside a compound that previously served as the “Halima al-Sa’diyya” School in the northern Gaza Strip. Hamas terrorists used the command and control center to plan and execute terror attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel. Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.” It provided no further details on the target or whether the IDF believed Hamas militants had been killed in the strike.
Friends and relatives posted condolences for the victims online. A friend of Maysara Ahmad Khala wrote on Facebook, “There is no power nor strength save with Allah. May Allah have mercy on the martyr//Dr. Maysara Khalleh. To Allah, we belong and to Him, we shall return.” He added an image of a young man in his late 20s or early 30s with a heavy build, round face, and beard wearing glasses, dressed in a white T-shirt, denim shirt, and jeans, sitting on a chair in front of a wooden door.
Mohammed Abu Warda posted about the deceased woman Abeer Muhammad Abu Warda: “Martyrdom / Abeer Mohammed Abu Warda (the cooking girl), 40 years old, as a result of the bombing of the tents of the displaced at Halima Al-Sadia School, north of Gaza” while another source added that Abeer was married to Islam Khala.
Social Distancing News’ Facebook account shared multiple posts about the victims including photos of the deceased as well as their names. Mahmoud Khala and Hamza Muhammad were both adult men, one was in his 30s, having a fair complexion, clean shaved face, dark eyes and eyebrows, and a wide smile; another one was a clean-shaved man in his 40s dressed in a blue shit. The same account shared the post-mortem photographs of the two men.
Al Jazeera shared a report from the place of the incident showing two injured people, an adult man and an adult woman, lying on the ground and later being transported into an ambulance. The report also showed the damaged floor and carpet inside the school premises.
The Al Jazeera correspondent also said the following: “A violent Israeli raid directly on Halima Al-Sadia School, which includes thousands of displaced people and many injuries. The crews are dealing with many cases. Many tents caught fire, causing martyrs and wounded. Two missiles were fired at a tent, and the pace of targeting is escalating at a high rate on the centres for sheltering the displaced and population gatherings.”
The Cradle quoted a witness who spoke to Al Jazeera and said that “The two missiles targeted a tent, not even a concrete building or a tunnel, we came down. We were all scared. We saw, among the people killed, a woman who was preparing milk for her child.”
Additionally, while most sources indicated shelling as the main cause of the incident, the Twitter/X account of Al Jazeera Arabic claimed that was an airstrike, while Alarabiya Palestine identified the cause as a drone bombing.
The incident occured around midnight.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (32) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (13) [ collapse]
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Source: Monitoring network -
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Source: Ahmed Aref -
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Source: Social Distancing News -
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Source: Social Distancing News -
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Source: Social Distancing News -
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Source: @NemoAnno -
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Israeli Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
IDF: A short while ago, with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command and control center. The command and control center was embedded inside a compound that previously served as the “Halima al-Sa'diyya” School in the northern Gaza Strip.
Hamas terrorists used the command and control center to plan and execute terror attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel.
Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.
The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law and operates from within civilian infrastructure and shelters in the Gaza Strip, brutally exploiting the Gazan civilian population for its terrorist activities. The IDF will continue to operate against the Hamas terrorist organization in defense of the State of Israel.