Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT1135a

Incident date

November 15, 2023

Location

شارع المغربي في حي الصبرة مدينة غزة, Al Maghrabi street in Al Sabra neighborhood, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.521939, 34.476714 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least one man and his daughter were reportedly injured by a bombing on the morning of Wednesday, November 15th 2023, while standing on Al Moghrabi Street (also known as Moneer al-Rayees Street) in the Al Sabra neighbourhood, of Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip. The father Bilal Al-Ashram reportedly died of his injuries later the same day.

It is not clear if the alleged bombing took place on Al Moghrabi Street or close by. A relative of the victims reported the strike taking place before noon.

The daughter, five-year-old Jewan Al-Ashram, was reportedly injured in the incident. A private source told Airwars that Bilal had been carrying Jewan when they were injured. Jewan was hit on her left thigh by shrapnel and Bilal was hit in the stomach or kidney area.

In a series of three short videos posted on Facebook by her care-giver or guardian, named Naba’ al-Amal, Jewan could be seen sitting in a hospital bed, a blue blanket over her lap, telling the story of what happened to the camera in a quiet voice.

In the first video, she said her father was called Bilal Al-Ashram and that he had been killed. She described the incident, saying that, when the bomb struck, she and her father were thrown to one side and her mother was thrown further away from them.

According to the private source, Bilal and Jewan were taken to al-Ahli hospital by Jewan’s uncles. Jewan received minor treatment and had a plaster cast put over her thigh.

There were no doctors available to treat Bilal at al-Ahli on the day of the incident. Jewan’s uncles then took him to the Indonesian Hospital where he was unable to receive treatment as the hospital had just run out of fuel. The uncles took Bilal – pushing him in a wheelchair – south on the Salah Al-Din road through the Israeli checkpoint, just south of the Kuwaiti roundabout. While queueing for the checkpoint, Bilal reportedly bled out and died, just 10 meters from the checkpoint.

After receiving treatment in al-Ahli Hospital on November 15, 2023, Jewan was returned to her mother, who was sheltering in a cement factory in Gaza City, later the same day. She stayed with her for three days until her wound “began to fester”.

In the second video, she said she was taken from Gaza (City) to the south of the Gaza Strip as there were “no hospitals in the north” and that she had spent two months being treated at the European Hospital.

This is corroborated by the private source who reported that Jewan’s uncles and an aunt took her south on Salah al-Din Road on Saturday, November 18th 2023 to receive treatment for her leg.

In the third video, she spoke about a man named Ibrahim Walie, saying that she loved him because he would “play with us and bring us things and he didn’t let us be afraid” and expressed that she wished he would come to visit her in hospital.

Her aunt and uncle are a couple named Abu Salman Al Ashram and Umu Al Ashram, and her younger paternal uncle is called Hisham Al Ashram. She was seen in Al-Aqsa Hospital on November 18th, 2023.

According to the private source, Jewan is a middle child with two older brothers and two younger sisters.

Neither the videos of Jewan, nor the private sources explicitly name a belligerent therefore, in line with Airwars’ methodology, this incident has been marked as contested between the two groups active in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Military and Hamas militants.

The incident occured in the morning.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Jewan Al-Ashram جوان الأشرم
5 years old female injured
Bilal Al-Ashram بلال الأشرم
Adult male killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of al Sabra (الصبرة) to the south of Jabalia (غزة). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for al Sabra are: 31.521939, 34.476714.

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Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Causes of injury / death
    Denial of access to/destruction of objects indispensable to survival, Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Israeli Military, Palestinian Militants

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @marypgkeating
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    Source: @marypgkeating
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @marypgkeating
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Palestinian Militants Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Palestinian Militants
  • Palestinian Militants position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Causes of injury / death
    Denial of access to/destruction of objects indispensable to survival, Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    Israeli Military, Palestinian Militants

Sources (4) [ collapse]