Airwars assessment
Around midday on Friday, November 3rd, 2023, an alleged shelling from Israeli tanks and/or naval boats hit displaced families on the Al-Rashid Al Bahri coastal road in the Gaza Strip. This shelling, occurring amid attempts by civilians to flee to the southern regions of Gaza from the north, resulted in the deaths of at least 14 civilians, including seven children and two women, and injuries of dozens.
Shehab Agency was among the first to report the incident at 1:53 PM, posting a graphic video filmed by a young man driving along the Al-Rashid road. Bodies of the killed civilians are seen along both sides of the road.
The report by Watan News stated that civilians were killed either by the shelling from the Israeli tanks or the naval boats: “While local media reported the presence of Israeli tanks near the coastal road, and that they were targeting anyone passing through that road, activists reported that the shelling was carried out by [Israeli] naval boats.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health estimated that the number of civilians killed in the incident was around 14. The Palestinian Information Center claimed, referring to its correspondent, that eight children were among the victims. According to the estimates by the Shehab Agency and other sources, the death toll reached dozens of civilians. Twitter/X user @TRTArabi also claimed that the attack led to dozens of injuries.
Tributes by family members helped Airwars to identify the names of ten of those killed.
The identified deceased civilians predominantly belonged to the Abu Rukba and Hamdan families, caught in transit while seeking refuge. 42-year-old woman named Salwa Samih Abu Rukba, a wife of Hosni Abu Rakba, was killed alongside her four children – 12-year-old son Mahmoud Hosni Abu Rukba, 10-year-old son Karim Hosni Abu Rukba, 15 to 17-year-old daughter Wasal Hosni Ibrahim Abu Rukba and eight-year-old Alaa Hosni Abu Rukba.
Initially, Salwa and her children were missing according to a Facebook post by a family relative Mohsen Abu Rukba who wrote: “Hosni Abu Rakba’s wife and four children are still on Rashid Street since yesterday. No one has been able to reach them. May God have mercy on you.” In a later post, he informed about their death, sharing a collage of their pictures.
According to another post by Mohsen Abu Rukba, the family was heading to the south of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, November 2, and they were “targeted by tank shells.” Two days later, on 4/11, Wasal was reportedly found in a state of shock at the targeted location by some passersby. They handed her over to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, where she apparently succumbed to her wounds.
Ashraf Hosni Abu Rukba provided more details about the death of the mother, Salwa Abu Rukba, saying that she was fatally injured in the abdomen.
Among the victims of the deadly strike were three brothers – 16-year-old Bassam Ghassan Hamdan, 14-year-old Ahmed Ghassan Hamdan, and five-year-old Yahya Ghassan Hamdan.
Among the killed were also 26-year-old man Moataz Ahmed Labad and his 25-year-old bride Iman Mahmoud Al-Sayed who were initially missing. They were displaced from Gaza Al-Nasr to Deir Al-Balah at exactly one o’clock in the afternoon, according to Isra W Almodallal. They were driving a white car and contact with them was lost an hour after they left. Both of their names were found on the fourth “Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza” list, which was released on April 30th, 2024, confirming that they had been killed. Isra W Almodallal’s post included an image of Moataz, a young man pictured wearing a black and green shirt with “Boston” written on it.
Eyewitness accounts and multiple videos circulating on social media depicted the aftermath of the strike, showing the horrific scenes of the wounded civilians and the bodies of the deceased civilians along the roadside.
Accounts such as @ShehabAgency, @ajplusarabi, and @TRTArabi posted videos that captured the destruction following the airstrike. A video posted by @iraninarabic_ir on Twitter/X showed a car in flames and the destroyed buildings on the road.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society released a statement that at 4pm on the same day, as they were trying to drive “on the only coastal road connecting the Gaza Governorate and the southern part of the Strip (Al-Rashid Street), the convoy was surprised by the road being blocked by large quantities of stones and rubble as a result of the bombing in the area.”
Where possible, 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 appear. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the fourth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on April 30th, 2024. Ages of victims have also been found by cross-checking names against lists of fatalities shared online by Shireen Monitor, an organisation which has a list of “Martyrs of Palestine” from 2023 onward.”
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.
The incident occured around midday.
The victims were named as:
Family members (5)
Family members (3)
Family members (2)
Summary
Sources (34) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (29) [ collapse]
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: جريدة السلام الدولى اليوم -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: الجزيرة - فلسطين -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Abedalkader Fares -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Abedalkader Fares -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: جمعية الهلال الأحمر الفلسطيني - قطاع غزة -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Watanserb news -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Thenewkhalij news -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.