Geolocation
Airwars assessment
At dawn on Sunday the 29th of October, 2024 at least 13 civilians were killed when an alleged Israeli airstrike hit Bilal bin Rabah Mosque and several nearby homes in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The bombardment, which hit Block C of the camp, reportedly injured dozens, a number of whom were taken to hospital. The precise number of victims remains unknown and the victims have not yet been identified.
CNN reported that the victims were from several families who were taking shelter in houses around the site of the mosque after they were displaced from northern Gaza. Survivors of the attack reported that they woke up to see buildings collapsing and had received no warning of an attack. One survivor, Issa al-Ahmad, reported being lifted out from the rubble. Though Issa survived, his mother and sister were killed. Mohammad Ahmad, another survivor, reported that at least three families who were sheltering near the mosque were killed. The strike, Mohammad stated, occurred while people were sleeping: “We were sleeping and all of sudden the glass and rubble were on top of us from every hole, we were terrified.” There were no warnings, Mohammad claimed: “We didn’t know exactly where the hit was, we started running to get our children out.” The confusion and fatigue was palpable: “Where are we supposed to go?”
Yasser Haweij, an eyewitness quoted by Al Jazeera Mubasher, emphasized the fear sparked by such attacks, claiming that in Gaza “there is no safe place.” Haweij corroborated CNN’s claim that surrounding homes were housing displaced people: “many families were displaced here in response to the warnings of the [Israeli] government, but even these areas are no longer safe, as missiles and explosive barrels reach them day and night.” Despite limited infrastructure, Haweij stated that volunteers “were able to rescue a number of children and women trapped under the rubble.” Because of power outages, volunteers were unable to reach the Civil Defence, and brought the victims to hospitals themselves. From the rubble, he alleged, they uncovered a pregnant woman, children, and an elderly woman.
Multiple videos were shared on social media showcasing the destruction wrought by the strike. A video shared by Facebook user Ahmed Nofal shows a toddler being removed from under rubble. It is unclear whether the girl, who is limp in a volunteer’s arms, is alive. Another video, shared by the same user, shows a child uncovered from the rubble being placed in a car; the child appears deceased. Another infant is seen with a bloodied head. One civilian screams as they remain beneath the concrete.
In an image shared by PNN Network, a group of young children are depicted standing on the rubble looking at the victims’ destroyed belongings: furniture, notebooks, clothing and rugs are amongst the debris.
Images shared in various news sources depicted the acute infrastructural damage caused by the attack, which completely collapsed the mosque and a number of nearby homes.
A video, shared on Facebook by public broadcasting cooperation Arabic TRT depicts the aftermath of the attack. People can be seen wandering around the decimated area where the mosque once stood; the area is now covered in rubble. The surrounding houses are either damaged or completely destroyed. Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque (مسجد بلال بن رباح) in Al Nuseirat (النصيرات). Analysing audio-visual material from sources we have narrowed down the location to these exact coordinates: 34.397529, 31.447024.
Summary
Sources (19) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (14) [ collapse]
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