Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On Wednesday, January 10th 2024, volunteer journalist and photographer for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), 26-year-old Fouad Abu Khammash, was killed alongside three members of PRCS crew and two patients in an ambulance on Salah al-Din Street in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, after a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was hit by an alleged Israeli drone strike as it was approaching Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Shehab Agency reported that six civilians were killed as a result of the bombardment that hit the ambulance. Later, the agency tweeted the statement of the Palestinian Red Crescent condemning the killing of its four crew members. The PRCS also announced that two patients who were transported in the ambulance were injured and died of their injuries.
According to the PRCS, the ambulance had been on Salah al-Din Road, a highway running north-south through the Gaza Strip that has in the past been used by thousands of Palestinians fleeing the Israeli military advance. The members of the crew killed in the incident included the ambulance driver, Youssef Abdullah Muhammad Muammar, the paramedic Fadi Fouad Al-Maani, the first responder, 24-year-old Islam Abu Riala, and a volunteer photographer Fouad Abu Khammash.
Akhbar Alyom News and Mekamelen TV shared images of the burnt and severely damaged ambulance on their Twitter/X accounts. The roof of the ambulance was completely destroyed and part of the vehicle was crushed, photos show. Quds news network shared images of the destroyed ambulance with the number 1206 and paramedics inspecting it, with traces of blood seen on its walls.
Journalist Ashraf Abu Omra said in a video shared by @QudsPress Twitter/X account that an alleged Israeli drone targeted the medical staff, killing four paramedics and turning their bodies into pieces in Salah al-Din Street.
Shehab Agency shared a video of a paramedic having collapsed after four of his colleagues were killed. Salma Kaddoumi also shared the images of the grieving paramedics shocked by the death of their colleagues.
Facebook user AL Bohissi Mostafa shared images of all four deceased members of the PRCS crew, calling them “the best youth of Deir al-Balah.” All of the men appear to be in their 20s or 30s.
According to ABC News, crowds of mourners gathered on Thursday for the funerals of the medics, with a shredded and bloodied Palestinian Red Crescent uniform placed atop one of the white shrouds. Ousama al-Kahloot shared images from the funeral where dozens of men, including paramedics, can be seen standing near the four white shrouds.
As there were so many testimonies posted online about the killed civilians, Airwars has summarised these below per individual.
Photographer Fouad Abu Khammash
“Nothing will stop us from our work and delivering our message, even for the last moment, even the last day, God willing.”
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, these were the last words of the volunteer Fouad Abu Khammash before he died alongside his three colleagues during the alleged Israeli strike of the PRCS Ambulance while it was evacuating two wounded people in Deir al-Balah. PRCS dedicated a video to the late Fouad where he could be seen rescuing children and capturing the aftermath of deadly airstrikes, and his colleagues were grieving over his sudden death.
Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem shared a Facebook tribute to the late Fouad writing that he was “compassionate, affectionate, loving, and helpful, until he became a martyr, and his immaculate body with his comrades was scattered in pieces.”
Numerous social media posts were dedicated to the memory of Fouad Abu Khammash. “Freedom of Gaza” Facebook account wrote that during the war, Fouad was a paramedic in the Red Crescent Society, and “he embraced the injured children in the hospital with compassion and kindness.”
Facebook account “Riwaq – center for architectural conservation” wrote that “over the years, Fouad’s lens has traveled throughout Gaza, capturing ancient, strange, and under-exposed places in the Gaza Strip.” Some of the images of life in the Gaza Strip taken by Fouad before the armed conflict were shared by this account.
Yaseen Abu Khasewan mourned Fouad’s death on Facebook, calling him a “friend”, “companion on occasion” and “beloved photographer” and shared a picture with him in a mosque.
Facebook user Yahya E. Al-Farra also wrote a tribute to him, remembering Fouad as a “good-natured friend and classmate, good-natured and easy-going, the dearly beloved journalist.” He shared Fouad’s picture in a blue shirt talking on the phone.
Amgad AL-Bohisi, apparently a colleague and friend of Fouad, wrote his testimony: “Oh, my heart aches for you… still this morning we were together and imagining and saying we have spent 96 days in the war… so you went and left me alone. Who wants to come and sit with me every day… Who do I want to talk to and laugh with.”
Iyad Khammash, apparently Fouad’s brother, wrote his post mourning the death of his brother on the first day of the Ramadan: “1/10/2024 And this day will remain the most difficult day in my life. I lost half of my soul, I lost a part of my heart, I lost a person who is impossible to forget. He left, and his passing was the most painful thing for me. My brother, may God have mercy on you and compensate me by meeting you in Jannah al-Firdaws. The first Ramadan without you ”
Atef Moqayad (@atefmoq) posted an image of Fouad – a young bearded man in a white shirt and black jacket, while Aljazeera Palestine shared his beautiful image with a horse. Facebook user Amal Hadad shared Fouad’s images from different times of his life.
Paramedic Fadi Fouad Al-Maani
PRCS wrote a long tribute to the paramedic Fadi Fouad Al-Maani: “Fadi Al-Maani was a lover of life and over the past fifteen years of his work in the Red Crescent Ambulance Team, he contributed to saving the lives of thousands of citizens.” According to PRCS, Fadi had four children, all girls – the oldest was 13 years old and the youngest was no more than four months old.
Manar Abu Samra wrote a condolence message for Fadi’s sister and mother, calling him “our beloved brother and neighbor, the oldest ambulance captain in Palestine.”
Shefa Atwa, Muhammad Abu Oday, Amira Faras, and others posted their tributes to Fadi, sharing his images in the red PRCS uniform.
Fadi’s brother Taer al-Nourus wrote a heart-wrenching testimony to his brother, attaching an image of his grave: “My brother will remain present in my heart no matter how much he is gone. I will always be proud that I had a very tender brother. He was not only a brother, but he was my life and everything in it.”
Driver Youssef Abdullah Muhammad Muammar
Ambulance driver Youssef Abdullah Muhammad Muammar (Abu Al-Raed), son of Abu Adnan, was mentioned in a post by Zain Eldeen along with Fadi Al-Maani and in a testimony by Ahmad s. Khattab where he was called “the beloved neighbor with difficult tasks.”
His cousin Alaa Moumar also mourned Youssef’s death, writing “ I am saddened by your departure. The cousin dear to my heart has passed away. Youssef Muammar… Abu Al-Raed.” She shared an image of Youssef, a young man in his late 20s or early 30s wearing a cap and a Tommy Hilfiger T-shirt.
Youssef’s cousin Amal A Muammar wrote his tribute to the “heroic paramedic”, sharing an image of Youssef in the PRCS white T-shirt and white cap in the ambulance. Naser Abu Akhsewan shared a joint picture with Youssef where Youssef was sitting in a driver’s seat in a white uniform.
There were many additional social media testimonies from family and friends mourning the death of Youssef Muammar. Mosa H Muammer called him “one of the pillars of the Red Crescent in Deir Al-Balah, the martyr Al-Layth, who had a kind heart.”
First responder Islam Abu Riala
According to the PRCS tribute to the late Islam, he was 24 years old, a “young man in his prime”, and has been a volunteer for three years in the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance team in the Gaza Strip. In a video attached to the post, Islam is seen saving the life of an injured man in an ambulance. In the images shared on social media, he can be seen as a young man with a mustache in the red PRCS uniform.
Airwars was unable to find additional details on the identity of the two patients who were killed while being transported in the ambulance.
Tommaso Della Longa, a spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told ABC News the organisation was shocked and saddened by the incident. “The ambulance was clearly marked with the Red Crescent protective emblem, which is a protective emblem under the Geneva Convention, and under international humanitarian law this ambulance must be protected and respected by every party of the conflict,” he said.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) also condemned the killing of four ambulance team members of PRCS and the two patients they were transporting. Both IFRC and World Health Organization offered their condolences to the families and colleagues of the victims.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.
As reported by ABC News, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the attack in a statement to the Agence France-Presse news agency. “A review was conducted based on the details provided to the IDF which shows that no strike was carried out in the described area,” the IDF said. In line with Airwars’ methodology, as all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces this has nevertheless been graded as a ‘likely’ Israeli strike.
The incident occured at 15:31:00 local time.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention an an ambulance of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) being struck on Salah al-Din Street (شارع صلاح الدين) in the vicinity of the town of Deir al-Balah (دير البلح). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.413871, 34.364627.
Summary
Sources (163) [ collapse]
Media
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