Airwars assessment
Shortly before 3:50 AM on Wednesday, August 21st 2024, at least four civilians were killed including two children, and at least 13 others, including ten children, were injured after a declared Israeli airstrike hit the UNRWA-affiliated Salah al-Din School which housed displaced people in the al-Rimal neighbourhood, west of Gaza City.
Israeli forces said that they carried out “a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center”. No other sources referenced militant presence and the IDF has not confirmed militant deaths in relation to the strike.
UNRWA Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini condemned the bombing of Salah al-Din School. He said that some children were burned to death, declaring that “the Gaza Strip is no longer a suitable place for children… Is there any humanity left?”.
According to the Palestinian Civil Defense report released at 4:14 PM, two civilians were killed and fifteen civilians were injured, including ten children while @EyeonPalestine put the toll at three killed and 13 injured. Later, Al Jazeera reported a total of seven deaths based on the reports obtained from medical sources. Facebook user Hamza Hammad claimed that dozens had been wounded while Press TV reported the injuries to be 18.
According to Aljazeera, Salah al-Din School, which is affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), was subjected to more than one attack that day. As the rescue crews worked at the scene, Israeli forces allegedly bombed a house next to the school and then again bombed the school. Despite limited capabilities, a Palestinian Civil Defense and ambulance crew tried to rescue the victims.
Families and friends of the victims have used social media to identify some of those who died and were injured in the incident. Two men, Ahmed Adeeb al-Qawqa and Ahmed Mahmoud al-Soussi, were killed, while one of the injured children, Ismail Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Al-Mashharawi, died of his injuries on August 31, 2024, according to Safa News. Shehab Agency also shared a video on the day of the strike with the caption “A child was martyred in the [Israeli] bombing of Salah al-Din School, which shelters displaced people in Gaza City.” The video was filmed from outside of a car and documented the family in the back seat of the car holding the body of their child wrapped in a white shroud – the child’s name has not been identified among the sources.
Ahmad Khalil al-Mashharawi’s Facebook post wished a speedy recovery for people who sustained injuries at the Salah al-Din School, among them 18-year-old Baraa Fouad Abdul Rahman Al-Mashharawi, 6-year-old Nour Anwar Abdul Rahman Al-Mashharawi, Nour’s sibling four-year-old Jani Anwar Abdul Rahman Al-Mashharawi, 35-year-old Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Hussein Al-Mashharawi, Ibrahim’s son four/five-year-old Ismail Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Al-Mashharawi (who died later, and is listed above) and four-year-old Muhammad Ahmed Al-Aidi Al-Mashharawi.
Imad M Allah expressed sadness over the loss of his cousin Ahmed Adeeb al-Qawqa. He shared an image of Ahmed smiling into a camera; he is seen wearing a green t-shirt. Head of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Faculty of Education of al-Aqsa University Prof. Dr Abdul Karim Musa Faraj Allah offered his condolence and sympathy messages to their colleague Dr. Adeeb Ibrahim al-Qawqa, who lost his son Ahmed Adeeb al-Qawqa in the bombing – “Praying to Allah Almighty to have mercy on the deceased With His vast mercy and to dwell in His gardens. To God we belong and to Him we shall return.”
On August 22nd, 2024, Yahya Alqouqain’s Facebook post also offered condolences to his uncle – “May God give you patience, my uncle, and give us patience for your loss, Ahmed.” Lyad.jaddalla has also paid condolences to Ahmed Adeeb al-Qawqa’s father writing “May God have mercy on the young writer Ahmed Adeeb Al-Qawqa. May God accept him among the martyrs.”
Hatem K Naser grieved the loss of his young cousin Ahmed Mahmoud al-Soussi. “May God have mercy on the martyrs” – wrote Hatem. On their social media Um Hatem also paid tribute to Ahmed Mahmoud al-Soussi: “May God have mercy on you, and God is sufficient for me, and He is the best Disposer of affairs”.
A Facebook post from Um Rawan Al-Mashharawi mentioned that her family members had sustained serious injuries. “My family, brothers and sisters are injured and my brothers’ children, O God, reassure my heart, O God”.
Many news agencies and social media users documented the aftermath of the strikes.
Alquds News posted pictures documenting the rescue efforts in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Al Jazeera broadcast images showed attempts to search for survivors under the rubble, adding that the school at the time of the bombing was sheltering many women, children, and people with disabilities.
Said El Haji in his Facebook post shared images of injured civilians, all of whom appeared to be young children, who were being transferred to receive treatment for their injuries. In the video posted by Aljazeera, mostly young children are seen arriving at the hospital while medical staff rush to provide care.
Umm Кawan Al-Mashharawi shared a video of a child with serious injuries connected to an IV, writing: “I ask God Almighty to heal you and heal all sick Muslims and your cousins.”
Gaza Press posted a video that documented a Palestinian mother grieving the loss of her son, and she was filmed shouting “My son was martyred”, “in a heart-wrenching voice”, according to the account. A second part of the video documented the crowd and a reporter running away whilst looking behind their shoulder. The ambulance car is seen in the background.
Alaraby News shared a video of a Palestinian family burying their child who was killed in the bombing of Salah al-Din School. Families and community members surrounded the man who was burying the child’s body wrapped in a white shroud. In the video on TikTok posted by AboOd M Sobaih, the mother of the child is seen receiving support from the family members. In another twenty-two-second video posted by Alsharq Alawsat two Palestinian women are seen comforting each other – “My son and your son are gone”. They are filmed holding each other in their arms.
A tweet from @LoverHomeless described the strike as “today a school near me was bombed. The school was turned into a shelter and is called Salah al-Din Refugee Shelter. Part of this school had been destroyed during an earlier invasion. Now it is completely destroyed.” @EyeonPalestine spoke with a man who was sheltering in the school before it was destroyed, and in the video he can be seen expressing the uncertainty of where to go now, adding that he has ended up on the street. @gazanotice also pointed out that after the bombing, “Israel issued an evacuation notice. Hundreds of families who had taken refuge in the school are fleeing in panic” along with a video of men, women, and children running away from the school in distress.
Mondoweiss spoke with survivors of the attack, who relayed the information that the Israeli military “warned people via phone calls to evacuate the area only five minutes before the bombardment occurred”. An 81-year-old elderly woman, Muna al-Jarousha, told Mondoweiss that “she lost her children and grandchildren, who were close to the bombing. They were staying in the shelter on al-Jalaa’ Street, north of Gaza City, when shrapnel suddenly started flying at them.” After receiving the evacuation notice Muna said that “Everyone started running out and screaming without knowing why, and there were still people who did not receive the evacuation message. Most of them were unable to evacuate. They were either martyred, lost, or injured…. I was trying to go out to look for my family after hearing the terrifying sound. Moments after the bombing, my son’s daughter came, raising her bleeding hand, her finger cut off by shrapnel. Her brother was injured in the stomach, causing his intestines to spill out of his abdomen. My son’s wife was injured in the head, and my daughter’s son disappeared and we have not been able to find him until now. We have not recovered all my children and grandchildren yet, and we do not know where they are. They could be alive or buried under the rubble, or they could have been cut up by the blast and lost forever, gone without a trace.”
In response to the attack, Rasha Alsaidi said that the day before she was at Salah al-Din School – “Thank God, my brother, my sister-in-law, and I miraculously escaped. We were going to be martyred, but thank God we escaped, but it was a tragic day”.
Posts on social media around the UNRWA statement included an image of five deceased civilians wrapped in white shrouds, three of whom appear to be young children.
Aljazeera and Madinet Hamad reported that the Israeli army claimed that the school was the headquarters of Hamas’s operations management.
Israeli Defense Forces acknowledged the strike in its Telegram post at 15:20 on August 21, 2024, claiming that it bombed the school because members of the Hamas movement took a command and control center inside it to carry out attacks against Israel. The statement said: “IDF: A short while ago, with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center. The command and control center was located inside a compound that previously served as the “Salah al-Din” School in Gaza City. Hamas operatives used the compound as a hideout and a base to plan and execute attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel.”
The Israeli military also claimed that prior to the strike, several steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and obtaining additional intelligence. The post was accompanied by the infographics allegedly showing the Command and Control Center embedded inside the “Salah al-Din” compound. There was no acknowledgement of civilian harm.
Ismail’s name was matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. His name was matched to the sixth Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza list, which was released on September 15, 2024.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (6)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (59) [ collapse]
Media
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Source: Um rawan Al-Mashharawi -
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Source: Hamza Hammad -
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Source: Said El Haji -
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Source: Said El Haji -
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Source: Said El Haji -
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Source: Said El Haji -
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Source: Said El Haji -
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Source: Said El Haji -
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Source: Said El Haji -
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Source: Alsohbi Alsohbi -
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Source: Avichay Adraee -
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Source: Abu Almajed -
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Source: Rasha Alsaidi -
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Source: Yahya alqouqa -
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Source: Iyad.jaddalla -
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Source: The Children of Gaza via Telegram
Israeli Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
IDF: A short while ago, with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center. The command and control center was located inside a compound that previously served as the “Salah al-Din” School in Gaza City. Hamas operatives used the compound as a hideout and a base to plan and execute attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel.
Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.
The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law and operates from within civilian infrastructure and shelters in the Gaza Strip, brutally exploiting the Gazan civilian population for its terrorist activities. The IDF will continue to operate against the Hamas terrorist organization in defense of the State of Israel.
Attached is an infographic of the Command and Control Center embedded inside the “Salah al-Din” compound: https://idfanc.activetrail.biz/ANC2108202432432108945
Media
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Source: IDF via Telegram