Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT140924h

Incident date

September 14, 2024

Location

مدرسة شهداء الزيتون التي تؤوي نازحين في محيط مسجد الشافعي بحي الزيتون, Shuhada Al-Zeitoun School, which shelters displaced people in the vicinity of Al-Shafi’i Mosque, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.500604, 34.456560 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Just before 5pm on September 14th 2024, the Shuhada Al-Zeitoun School, sheltering displaced people in the vicinity of Al-Shafi’i Mosque, southeast of Gaza City, was struck by a declared Israeli airstrike which resulted in the killing of up to five people and the injury of six others.

Israeli forces said that the strike was targeting a “command and control complex” operated by Hamas under the school.

Initial statements by the Civil Defense Authority led sources such as @refugeesps and @SafaPs to report on Twitter/X that at least one or two people were killed at the displacement shelter in the Shuhada Al-Zeitoun School. After medical sources confirmed that the toll had risen to five deceased and six injured, news outlets such as Wattan News and Al Balad News Network published updated incident reports. Facebook user Maryam Ahmed specified that some of the injuries were “serious” but the extent of the injuries was not known. No sources provided identification for any of the victims.

Al Jazeera Egypt reported that children were among those killed. This was confirmed by Maryam Ahmed on Facebook who stated that a woman was among the deceased as well: “5 martyrs, including two children and a woman,…. They were martyred before they put on their new shoes.” A picture shared by Masar News emphasised the danger to children: a man is seen carrying a dust-covered, deceased toddler away from the area of the strike.

An additional source, @WatNe, posted on Facebook that the incident severely injured a pregnant woman causing her to lose her unborn child: “In Gaza, a foetus is born a martyr. A Palestinian woman was pregnant with her child and was displaced after the [Israelis] bombed her house with her husband and daughters to the Shuhada Al-Zeitoun School in Gaza, which was recently subjected to a sudden missile attack. The [Israelis] killed her joy at seeing her child, after the doctors told her that he had been martyred.”

The Israeli Defense Forces, posting on Telegram, acknowledged their involvement, claiming the school operated as a “command and control complex [that] was used by Hamas terrorists”. They wrote: “Fighter jets of the Air Force attacked a short time ago, in a targeted manner and under the intelligence guidance of the IDF, the Shin Bet and the Southern Command, terrorists who were operating in a command and control complex in the area that was previously used as the “Shahda’ Elzayton” school in Gaza City”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention that the Shuhada Al Zeitoun School (مدرسة شهداء الزيتون) was struck in Gaza City (مدينة غزة) . Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.500604, 34.456560.

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  • Imagery:
    Said El Haji

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 5
  • (1–2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    6
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Known belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (37) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (40) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Hanzpal2
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: فلسطين الحرة
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: فلسطين الحرة
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: فلسطين الحرة
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: فلسطين الحرة
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: فلسطين الحرة
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Said El Haji
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Said El Haji
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Said El Haji
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Said El Haji
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Said El Haji
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Said El Haji
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: 24 Amen
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sahift Falstin
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sahift Falstin
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sahift Falstin
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: اذاعة صوت فلسطين
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Talal Alkurdi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Albalad News Network
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Yassir Yousif
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Yassir Yousif
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Yassir Yousif
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Masarnews news
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Wattan news
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: @FastNews77
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Source: Anadolu Agency News
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  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Israeli Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Israeli Military

Fighter jets of the Air Force attacked a short time ago, in a targeted manner and under the intelligence guidance of the IDF, the Shin Bet and the Southern Command, terrorists who were operating in a command and control complex in the area that was previously used as the "Shahda' Elzayton" school in Gaza City >>
The command and control complex was used by Hamas terrorists to plan and carry out terrorist operations against the IDF forces and the State of Israel.

Before the attack, many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weaponry, aerial contracts and additional intelligence information >>

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 5
  • (1–2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    6
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Known belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (37) [ collapse]