Airwars assessment
Shortly before 8:50 PM on Friday, October 11, 2024, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit a residential block containing homes of the Darduna, Assaf, Junaid and Alloush families located in the vicinity of Al-Omari Mosque in Jabalia Al Balad, northern Gaza Strip, leading to the deaths of at least 19 identified civilians, including two women and at least six children, with up to 100 other civilians injured or missing.
The affected multi-family homes were completely destroyed, resulting in the complete loss of many members of the same households. Many social media users wrote that an entire residential block with its residents was razed to the ground. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military about the alleged target of the strike.
Journalist Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) was the first to report the incident on Twitter/X at 8:50 PM, writing about a large number of the civilians killed and injured. At 9:00 PM journalist Hossam Shabat (@HossamShabat) reiterated this information, noting that the affected area in Jabalia was located in the vicinity of Al-Omari Mosque. At 8:57 PM Anas Al-Sharif reported there had been at least 15 deaths and dozens of injuries.
At 9:56 PM Twitter/X user @sabrifarra24 reported already 22 “martyrs”, mentioning a large number of missing people and the complete destruction of four residential houses. However, the highest death tolls were reported by Facebook user Hani Shehada who stated that more than 30 civilians lost their lives in the deadly attack and Facebook user Ghaza Ala’n who reported that 36 civilians were killed.
Most of the sources reported “dozens” or a “large number” of injured civilians. Facebook user Abo Nemer claimed that more than 30 people were injured while Facebook user Abedul Samor reported 100 “wounded and missing,” however, without providing more exact figures. Airwars researchers were able to identify the names of 19 individuals who were reported killed in the attack, though this list does not claim to be exhaustive. This assessment will be updated if more information emerges.
Assaf family
The Assaf family experienced severe losses, with at least 15 family members from multiple generations reportedly killed. According to the Facebook post by Mohammed al Abadla Abo Awni, “In the house of Hassan Assaf, 15 martyrs were completely killed under the rubble of the house. The youngest martyr is a child who is no more than seven months old, and the location of the house is a 20-meter hole, with no landmarks for the houses.” According to Darb Al Shuahda’’s Facebook post, more than 15 members of the family were killed, and only their son Ali survived.
Airwars researchers identified the names of 12 victims from the Assaf family. This included Hassan Ibrahim Assaf, his wife Heba Abdel Qader Assaf (Shaaban), and their children and grandchildren, including ten sons: Ibrahim Hassan Assaf, Fawzi Hassan Assaf, Abdel Hadi Hassan Assaf, Omar Hassan Assaf, Amer Hassan Assaf, Mohammed Hassan Assaf and Ismail Hassan Assaf, and three granddaughters: Mervat Ismail Assaf, Mervat Ibrahim Assaf, and Nour Ibrahim Assaf, one of whom was only seven months old.
Posts by Darb Al Shuhda’a and Fadwa Al Lulu referenced each Assaf family member lost in the incident, with Darb Al Shuhda’a sharing images and messages paying tribute to the family, describing them as “moons” tragically taken. The ages of Hassan and Heba’s sons are not known at the time of writing, but at least two of them were children based on the family image shared by Darb Al Shuhda’a.
Darb Al Shuhda’s also shared a graphic video on Facebook showing a man holding a body of an infant in his arms, apparently an infant child of the family, accompanied by a grieving and crying teenager Ali Assaf, the only surviving son in of Hassan and Heba. Both the man and the boy were surrounded by the bodies of the family members in white shrouds.
Azam family
The Azam family was also heavily impacted by losses. Eyad Jameel Azam, his wife Umm Hassan Azam, and their sons Hassan Eyad Azam and Jameel Eyad Azam were killed, along with Mohammed Al Azazi, Umm Hassan’s brother and Eyad’s brother-in-law. Worood Alsawalhe and Mokhaiam Jabalia Al Samed posted tributes to Eyad and his family, highlighting their close bonds and community involvement.
The Palestinian Volleyball Federation honoured Hassan Azam, recognizing his role as a player for the Jabalia Services Club. Hassan was a young man pictured dressed in a white T-shirt and a grey lather jacket in the picture shared by Hojam Koraa Al Taera Falstin.
The family father, Eyad Azam, was a middle aged man pictured dressed in a grey shirt in the images shared by the sources. The social media sources also shared the picture of his other son, Jameel, who was also a young man pictured wearing a white jacket.
Mohammed Al Azazi mourned the death of his father Mohammed Al Azazi in a Facebook tribute, writing “We ask God Almighty to bestow His vast forgiveness on the deceased and to grant him a place in His spacious gardens, and to inspire his family and relatives with patience and solace.”
Additional casualties
Also among the civilians killed were a child named Mohammed Ibrahim Arfat Darduna and Mansour Jonied.
Mansour Jonied was mourned by Anees Hema, who shared a post, identifying Mansour as “my family” and expressing deep personal grief over his loss – the post mentioned “martyrs” from the Jonied family, making it possible that an additional member of the Jonied family were killed.
Darb Al Shuhada’a mourned the death of a young boy named Mohammed Ibrahim Arfat Darduna, sharing his image. Mohammed was pictured wearing a white T-shirt and a denim jacket.
Aftermath of the strike
Various social media sources captured and documented the aftermath, describing the extensive destruction and emotional impact on the community.
Multiple accounts, including Hani Shehada and Abu Zaina Wael, shared images of the devastation left by the strike. Hani Shehada characterised the attack as “slaughter from vein to vein,” expressing the collective grief. Palestine TV shared images from the nighttime rescue scene, where residents used phone flashlights to search through the rubble — videos by Naheel Said and Rafah Tayseer showed scenes of destruction and urgent rescue efforts. F Eyad Abo Harbeed also noted that houses in the area had “disappeared from existence,” leaving many unrecognizable beneath the rubble, and mentioned that “the strike caused the collapse of Ramzi Alloush’s house and part of the house of the Darbouna family.”
Journalist Abdalla M Abu Kmail provided more exact information, writing that the homes of the Darduna, Assaf, Junaid and Alloush families had been destroyed in the attack.
Where sources identified belligerents, all sources attributed the airstrike to the Israeli military.
The incident occured during the night.
The victims were named as:
Family members (12)
Family members (5)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (78) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (71) [ collapse]
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Source: Hani Shehada -
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Source: Fateh news - Fateh eg -
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Source: Radio Sawt Al shabab -
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Source: Radio Sawt Al shabab -
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Source: Journalist: Abdalla.M. Abu Kmail -
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Source: Meriam NA -
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Source: Al Jazeera - Al Aordon -
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Source: Etha’at sawt Falstin -
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Source: Eyad Abo Harbeed -
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Source: Darb Al Shuhada’a -
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Source: Darb Al Shuhada’a -
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Source: Othman Elgendy -
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Source: Asmaa Bakr -
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Source: Menna Ahmed -
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Source: Darb Al Shuhda’a -
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Source: Abed Assaf -
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Source: Ahmed Aljojo -
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Source: Hebr news 2 -
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Source: Darb Al Shuhada’a -
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Source: Hojam Koraa Al Taera Falstin -
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Source: Hojam Koraa Al Taera Falstin -
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Source: palestinian volleyball federation -
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Source: palestinian volleyball federation -
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Source: Worood Alsawalhe -
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Source: Worood Alsawalhe -
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Source: Worood Alsawalhe -
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Source: Worood Alsawalhe -
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Source: Mokhaiam Jabalia Al Samed -
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Source: Anwar Emad -
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Source: Anwar Emad -
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Source: Anwar Emad -
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Source: Ramez Abo Warda -
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Source: Ramez Abo Warda -
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Source: Ramez Abo Warda -
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Source: Abed Al Kareem Abo Ouda -
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Source: Abed Al Kareem Abo Ouda -
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Source: Mohammed Azam -
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Source: Mohammed Azam -
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Source: Mohammed Azam -
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Source: Nael Azam Abo Jameel -
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Source: Nael Azam Abo Jameel -
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Source: Nael Azam Abo Jameel -
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Source: Hossam Azzam -
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Source: Emad Azam Abo Jameel -
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