Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT0884

Incident date

November 4, 2023

Location

مزرعة دواجن في رفح, Poultry Farm in Rafah, Rafah, the Gaza Strip

Airwars assessment

Shortly before 18:47 on Saturday, November 4, 2023, three workers on a poultry farm east of the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip were killed and one was injured by an alleged Israeli airstrike on the farm facility.

The workers killed were named by multiple sources to be 32-year-old Tariq Ahmed Hamid Sheikh Al Eid and two brothers, 23-year-old Anas Hussein Awda Al Shawi and 18-year-old Abdul Karim Hussein Awda Al Shawi, all male; the name of the injured worker wasn’t found among local sources.

A Palestinian news agency Safa was the first to report the incident at 18:47. While some sources initially reported only two killed and one injured in this strike, most sources later reported three civilians killed and one injured, such as WAFA News Agency and Press Abeer Al Banna, who immediately were able to name the Al Shawi brothers as two of the killed civilians.

A Facebook post from Majed Alshawi memorialized the Al Shawi brothers without indicating his relationship to them, along with separate images of the brothers. One of the brothers was pictured standing in a checkered shirt and jeans and holding a cat. Additionally, multiple other Facebook posts memorialized Tariq Ahmed Hamid Sheikh Al Eid (Abu Hadi); a particular post was by the Facebook page of Al-Zamili Sheikh Al Eid clan which Tariq likely belonged to. This post also contained an image of the late Tariq – he was pictured dressed in a grey sweater and jeans.

Where sources identified who was responsible, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military. Additionally, most of the sources referred to the attack as an airstrike.

Where possible, names 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 is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names for Al Shawi brothers, Anas (M, 23) and Abdul Karim (M, 18) were matched on the second through sixth list, with a mismatch with the father’s name (Hussein vs Hassiri); Tariq Ahmed Hamid Sheikh Al Eid (M, 32) appeared on those same lists.

The incident occured in the evening.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Anas Hussein Awda Al Shawi انس حسين عودة الشاوي
23 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 406076711
Abdul Karim Hussein Awda Al Shawi عبد الكريم حسين عودة الشاوي
18 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 406076711

The victims were named as:

Tariq Ahmed Hamid Sheikh Al Eid طارق أحمد حميد الشيخ عيد
32 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 802599878

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Infrastructure
    Agriculture, Livestock
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • 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 (18) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Majed Alshawi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Majed Alshawi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Tajamu’a Ashiera “ Shiekh Eid” Al Zamli
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Loay Al Arja
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sharief Al Sofi

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Infrastructure
    Agriculture, Livestock
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • 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 (18) [ collapse]