Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On Monday, 4 December 2023, at least one child was reportedly killed and others were wounded, including children, in an alleged Israeli airstrike that struck the Khalifa Bin Zaid School in Beit Lahia in the north governorate of the Gaza Strip.
The Khalifa Bin Zaid school housed displaced people at the time of the strike. The exact number of civilians killed and injured in the strike is unclear and has not been explicitly stated in any of the sources beyond references to “martyrs and wounded.”
The Eye on Palestine Instagram account, in screenshots shared by Facebook user Nourhan Farouk, noted that “a number of injuries, most of them children, arrive[d] to the hospital of Kamal Odwan, north of Gaza” and shared a photo of a young girl with bandages on her face, hands, and abdomen lying on a gurney. Another screenshot shows a medical worker carrying a very young wounded child with bandages and blood on his face into the hospital. A further screenshot shared shows a man crying over a child’s shrouded body, likely that of his daughter. The post’s caption relates the father’s memories of his daughter making him coffee: “She’d make me coffee in the morning (…) I’d tell her, yes, your coffee tastes better, Mays”.
Another screenshot by the same account shows two young men who seem to be in the middle of talking or asking for help and a middle-aged man laying on a bloody mattress on the ground in a hospital. It is unclear if he is injured or deceased. Another round of screenshots show teenagers and adults transporting an injured or lifeless man in a blanket, rushing him to a hospital.
It is unclear whether every screenshot shared by user Nourhan Farouk captures this specific strike, or whether these also include other attacks. One screenshot shows Emergency Medical Services (E.M.S) carrying a man on a stretcher, it is unclear whether he is alive, which appears to have been taken at night. All other images show the attack occurred during daylight hours. Another screenshot shows a man leaning against a wall with blood trailing from his leg. It is possible that the video, taken from above, is showcasing the aftermath of a ground operation, as the man was possibly shot. This is corroborated by a later image, shared by the same user, that purports to show a young man being shot by Israeli soldiers in Qalandia, which is in the West Bank. Though it is unclear whether both these images are of the same man, it supports the likelihood that not all images shared relate to the alleged airstrike on Khalifa Bin Zaid School. Casualties that appear possibly linked have been added to maximum ranges only.
Other videos were more clearly demonstrating the aftermath of the Khalifa Bin Zaid School strike. A video posted by @wasem_sad22 on Twitter/X shows a man rushing a seemingly lifeless child out of the school to get help.
Journalists shared videos on platforms such as @AJA_Palestine showing the extent of the destruction. The videos show complete devastation in the courtyard of cars, building parts, and what looks to be resulting burn marks from the fires ignited by the airstrike. Other videos right after the strike show smoke billowing out above the makeshift tents in the school such as the video shared by @alwakeelnews on Twitter/X. This user alleged that “gas bombs” were used in the strike.
Where sources named a belligerent, all sources claimed the Israeli military was responsible.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention that the Khalifa bin Zayed School (مدرسة بنات بيت لاهيا) was struck in Beit Lahia (بيت لاهيا). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.543076, 34.500848.
Summary
Sources (21) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (56) [ collapse]
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