Geolocation
Airwars assessment
There was wide scale reporting of the death of civilian Raed Zakariya Mohammad Hamad, aged 32, after alleged Israeli forces’ artillery hit Al Qarman Street, east of Beit Hanoun at approximately 2pm on May 19th 2021. Another 10 civilians were reportedly wounded, including at least one child.
The artillery shells hit the house of Zakariya Mohammad Hamad, the father of Mr. Hamad, who was killed in the attack.
Mr. Hamad, the father of Raed, was interviewed by the Washington Post. The Washington Post reported “Hamad and his wife had moved in upstairs, and that is where the whole family, including his 33-year old son Raed and five nieces and nephews, had gathered on May 19. It had been a quiet afternoon, they said, before an explosion rocked the house.”
The Washington Post also reported that “the Israeli military said it had no record of an attack on the area at the time. It says that hundreds of the rockets Hamas attempted to fire into Israel during the conflict missed their mark and instead landed inside Gaza.” This is disputed by all other sources which attribute the attack directly from an Israeli forces’ air strike.
As well as reporting the death of Mr. Hamad, Al Hayat Press reported that, “more than ten others” were wounded. Other sources mention that this was a different number, for example Quds Press reported that it was six people, who were taken to Beit Hanoun Governmental Hospital. Another local source, @PalEvePlus, reported from the Gaza Health Ministry that eight were injured, whilst Al Haq put this number at one.
PCHR Gaza reported that a child was wounded; this could possibly be Hussein Munir Hamad, who was reported by Wael Hamad, the cousin of the family, as a ‘martyr’, and a photo of a small child was uploaded, but it is not clear in any other source that they lost their life. Gaza Now reported that the child who was injured was Mr. Hamad’s nephew.
@dabkezone, a source on Instagram and a member of the Hamad family, reported on May 21st 2021 that “yesterday at 7:19am, I received several messages from my youngest sister who lives in Beit Hanoun, a border-village in the north of Gaza… The messages read, “Ahmad, Raed my cousin was martyred and your nephew Aser is injured.” A tank shell hit Raed directly. They found him in pieces, unrecognizable to those he was closest to.”
They continued, “3 days before Raed’s death, I called my sister and spoke to her. Raed was around, and I ended up speaking to him for about 2 hours. Our call started the way things always used to do with him, full of laughter… He told me about his clothing business and how it’s finally doing well, and that he is going to get married in 2 months time, something everyone was looking forward to celebrating.”
“His voice still rings in my ears from our last call. It hurts to know that I won’t be seeing him again.”
The same cousin, @dabkezone, in another Instagram wrote, “Raed received a call from our friend Rami who lives in the same area, and walked into the same room my sister had just left. As he looked through the window to see what was going on outside, a missile hit him directly and ended his life in pieces.”
A local source on Twitter, @a014576, reported that “the city of Beit Hanoun and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine bury the body of its heroic comrade” and featured pictures of crowds gathered at his funeral, with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine flags. Hadaf News also reported that Mr. Hamad was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The source mentioned that “he joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 2006.”
The incident occured at approximately 2:00 pm local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Summary
Sources (37) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (23) [ collapse]
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A local source on Twitter reported the death of Raed Zakariya Hamad, aged 32, on May 19th 2021. (Twitter / @om_loai1311)
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Shehab Agency reported on the death of a civilian on May 19th 2021, "Shehab Reporter: Raed Zakaria Hamad was martyred in artillery shelling targeting the homes of citizens east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip."
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A local source on Twitter, @shimaaalnatour, reported the death of Raed Zakariya Hamad on May 19th 2021, "The martyr of Beit Hanoun, Raed Zakaria Hamad." -
"The citizen, Raed Zakaria Hamad, was martyred on Wednesday in artillery shelling targeting the homes of citizens east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip." (Amad Press / May 19th 2021).
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A local source, @a014576, reported the death of Raed Zakariya Hamad, on May 19th 2021. (Twitter)
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A local source,@a014576, reported the death of Raed Zakariya Hamad on May 19th 2021, including posting photos of his funeral. (Twitter)
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"Today, Wednesday, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine mourned its comrade fighter, Raed Zakaria Muhammad Hamad, who was martyred." (Hadaf News / May 19th 2021)
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1 of 9: The City Beithanoun News reported of the funeral of Raed Zakariya Hamad, allegedly killed by an Israeli forces' airstrike on May 19th 2021. The photos are attributed to R. R. R Gaza.
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2 of 9: The City Beithanoun News reported of the funeral of Raed Zakariya Hamad, allegedly killed by an Israeli forces' airstrike on May 19th 2021. The photos are attributed to R. R. R Gaza.
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3 of 9: The City Beithanoun News reported of the funeral of Raed Zakariya Hamad, allegedly killed by an Israeli forces' airstrike on May 19th 2021. The photos are attributed to R. R. R Gaza.
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4 of 9: The City Beithanoun News reported of the funeral of Raed Zakariya Hamad, allegedly killed by an Israeli forces' airstrike on May 19th 2021. The photos are attributed to R. R. R Gaza.
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5 of 9: The City Beithanoun News reported of the funeral of Raed Zakariya Hamad, allegedly killed by an Israeli forces' airstrike on May 19th 2021. The photos are attributed to R. R. R Gaza.
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6 of 9: The City Beithanoun News reported of the funeral of Raed Zakariya Hamad, allegedly killed by an Israeli forces' airstrike on May 19th 2021. The photos are attributed to R. R. R Gaza.
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7 of 9: The City Beithanoun News reported of the funeral of Raed Zakariya Hamad, allegedly killed by an Israeli forces' airstrike on May 19th 2021. The photos are attributed to R. R. R Gaza.
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8 of 9: The City Beithanoun News reported of the funeral of Raed Zakariya Hamad, allegedly killed by an Israeli forces' airstrike on May 19th 2021. The photos are attributed to R. R. R Gaza.
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9 of 9: The City Beithanoun News reported of the funeral of Raed Zakariya Hamad, allegedly killed by an Israeli forces' airstrike on May 19th 2021. The photos are attributed to R. R. R Gaza.
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"The Palestinian Arab Democratic Union in Italy extends its sincere condolences to comrade Sherif Hamad for the martyrdom of his brother, Raed Hamad." (UDAP Italia / Facebook)
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The cousin of Eman.hamad.904 on posted on Facebook after the death of Raed Zakariya Hamad (pictured), on May 19th 2021.
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Wael Hamad, a family member, reported on Facebook, "Thank you to everyone who offered us condolences on the death of my cousin, the martyr Raed Zakaria Hamad and the martyr Hussein Munir Hamad." (Facebook / May 19th 2021)
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1 of 2: A family member on Instagram, @dabkezone, reported the death of Raed Zakariya Hamad, May 21st 2021.
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2 of 2: A family member on Instagram, @dabkezone, reported the death of Raed Zakariya Hamad, May 21st 2021.
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1 of 2: Hamad lost his son in the strike. (Emad Nassar for The Washington Post, June 6th 2021)
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2 of 2: Hamad lost his son in the strike. (Emad Nassar for The Washington Post, June 6th 2021)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention a house being struck in the city of Beit Hanoun (بيت حانون). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Beit Hanoun are: 31.536116, 34.537239.