Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Between 80 and “over 200” people were killed and dozens of others were wounded by an alleged Israeli airstrikes on the Al-Fakhoura School in the Jabalia Camp of Northern Gaza in the early morning of November 18th, 2023.
Soon after the strike, the Ministry of Health reported that 50 people had been killed. Another ministry official declared that “the death tool [had risen] to over 80.” Shehab Agency, however, reported that over 200 had been killed. Al Jazeera Egypt reported there were “more than 150” deaths; Al Jazeera Arabic corroborated that the strike resulted “in the death of hundreds.” Dozens of deceased and wounded were taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital, according to @ajmubasher.
The school, operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), was temporary home to many displaced families. WION News specified “airstrikes” occurred, but the specific number, if it was indeed more than one, is unknown. The consequence of the strike was severe; Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA chief, described the scene as “horrifying.” In a video shared by Al Ghad TV, a woman described how her “husband and children were turned into pieces.”
Identities of many of the victims remains unknown. The director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Ahmed al-Kahlout, said that releasing the names of the dead was impossible because “bodies are everywhere.”
Identification has been given, however, for some foreign nationals. Imad Sitou on Twitter/X claimed that two Moroccan women were killed in the strike. Eco Press corroborated this, though specified five people. One woman, identified as a 33-year-old Safia Hariri, originally from Taounate, a town in Morocco, was killed. She had worked with UNRWA “throughout her life.” Her husband, al-Ghazawi was also reported killed. Their two daughters, Firdaus and Aisha survived; it is unclear whether they were injured.
48-year-old Khadija Air al-Qadi, from Khemisset, was killed along with her four children, whose names and ages are unknown. Her husband, from Jordan, survived only because he had left the school in search of water.
39-year-old Tiflet native Hafsa Kinani was killed with her two children. Her husband, a doctor originally from Gaza, survived.
A woman named Kulthum al-Shashi, from Sefrou in Morocco, was also killed, as was Abdel Salam al-Sarraj. Al-Sarraj, originally from Ouarzazate in Morocco, was a solar energy technician.
Palestinian Ayat Ghanem, in a post on Facebook, spoke of her relief that her uncle and his family, who were sheltering at the school, had survived. Still, she wrote, there was no doctor able to receive them at the Indonesian hospital where they were transferred. The amount of people killed and wounded, she wrote, was “indescribable.”
A video shared by Al Jazeera Palestine showed chaos at the hospital following the bombardment, with medics attempting to resuscitate people lying on the floor.
Another video shared by Twitter/X user @wejdano2220 showed a doctor kneeling over his father’s body, after he had been transported to the hospital.
Dutch-run NOS News quoted Sky News as describing the scene: “The images show women and children lying motionless on multiple floors of the building. Many people lay still, surrounded by blood, in a damaged room, where school desks also appeared to be present.” The BBC also geolocated footage to the school, and images show many “with severe injuries or lying motionless on the floor in different parts of the building.”
NOS News further claimed that the Israeli military had warned Jabalia residents “in a social media message in Arabic to evacuate.”
An IDF spokesperson told both CNN and the BBC that they were “reviewing the incident” but had not confirmed the strike. Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.
The incident occured around dawn.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Family members (5)
Family members (3)
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the Fakhoura school (مدرسة الفاخورة) in the Jabalia refugee camp (مخيم جباليا) being struck. Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.542557, 34.495347.
Summary
Sources (30) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (13) [ collapse]
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: WION News -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Muslim World League Statement -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: CNN News -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Sky News News -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Al Jazeera News -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.