Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Shortly before 1 PM on Wednesday, 23rd October 2024, at least three civilians, including a child, were killed and dozens of others, including an elderly man, were reportedly injured when a declared Israeli airstrike hit the Al Zahraa School located near Al-Shuja’iyya Junction east of Gaza City. Displaced people were reportedly sheltering in the school when it was hit.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the strike on their Telegram channel, stating at 17:03 that “Earlier today (Wednesday), with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike … inside a compound that previously served as the ‘Al Zahra’ School” which they alleged “was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel.” Airwars did not find any additional information about the presence of Hamas militants at the school among open sources.
At 1.16 pm Al Jazeera – Falastin made an “Urgent” post on Facebook reporting “3 martyrs and a number of wounded in an Israeli bombardment of Al Zahraa School, which shelters displaced people east of Gaza City.” Al Jazeera Mubasher reported “Blood and screams everywhere” due to “violent Israeli shelling on a shelter for displaced people in Al Zahraa School.” The death toll of three people was reported by multiple other sources.
Multiple news sources reported three deaths and some reported a number of wounded as a result of the incident. At 1:13 PM, Safa news agency reported dozens of injuries, but the precise number of wounded civilians was not found among local sources.
News agencies, including Al Jazeera Egypt and 24 Amen, provided video documentation of the incident on X/Twitter. The graphic footage depicted bloody scenes and severe structural damage to the school and surrounding area.
Victims were identified by friends and family on social media when mourning the death of their loved ones. Nadal Kamal Saleem identified one of the victims as his nephew Saqr Muhammad Kamal Abu Ajwa. A photo, shared alongside the post, depicted a close-up of his face after being killed. His face was scratched and scarred and his body and head were wrapped in a white cloth. From the image, it appears that he was a teenager.
Family member Abo Kamal Abo Ajwa Saleem Kamal, posting on Facebook, described Saqr as a “loyal friend” and the “love” of his “heart”. Posting on Facebook on October 28, 2024, a family member named Abo Anas Abo Ajwa mourned the death of Saqr who he described as the “moons of the family.” A photo shared alongside the post depicted two young boys in blue and black football t-shirts in a photo on a telephone held up against a football stadium’s backdrop. Both boys smile toward the camera and one holds the shoulder of the other.
Family member Karim Hazem mourned the death of his cousin Bayan Majed Jamal Noman Mashtaha in a Facebook post. In a photo shared alongside the post, he is depicted as a middle-aged man with black frame glasses. This photo was circulated by several social media users.
In a graphic video filmed by Mohamed Al-Jabary and released by news agencies, including Aljazeera Egypt, someone is running through streets of rubble toward the scene of the incident where a building billows up in smoke. At the scene of the incident people run around in panic, an elderly man walking towards the camera has a face covered in blood, and others rush to help victims who are lying on the floor, surrounded by bloody puddles, amidst the screaming female voices. The surrounding buildings are burnt and have been destroyed. Later on, the video showed a screaming woman dressed in a black abaya after she had seen a dead body on the ground; Civil Defense volunteers in orange vests searched through the rubble. At least two killed civilians are seen in this video.
Another video shared by Al Jazeera Mubasher (@ajmubasher) on Twitter/X also showed the immediate aftermath of the strike. An elderly man says at the beginning of the video describing the shelling: “Knives were thrown up like blades…the shrapnel fell like knives…the shrapnel keeps falling…”
Photos shared on social media depicted details from the same scene. Facebook user Sayed al Hafez Ahmeen Salem shared two photos; the first depicted a pool of water stained with blood seeping out from a destroyed building, and the second depicted a young boy and two men, both of whom appear to be a rescue worker, standing beside the pools of blood with the caption ‘from the bombing of Al Zahraa School for the displaced in Al-Shuja’iyya neighborhood a short while ago…blood is flowing like rivers’. Facebook user Abo Kamal Abo Ajwa Kamal Saleem shared several photos depicting the infrastructural damage to the area. Large areas were filled with rubble and debris from collapsed buildings.
Although the IDF confirmed its airstrike on Al Zahraa School, it did not acknowledge the civilian harm resulting from it. Therefore, Airwars has graded the strike status of the incident as “declared,” and civilian harm status as “fair.”
The incident occured at approximately 1:00 pm local time.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the Al Zahraa school (مدرسة الزهراء) to the west of Gaza City (مدينة غزة). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.504744, 34.466442.
Summary
Sources (37) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (36) [ collapse]
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Source: Sayed al Hafez Ahmeen Salem -
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Source: Sayed al Hafez Ahmeen Salem -
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Source: 24 Amen -
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Source: Al jazeera - Masr -
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Source: Sief Al Bahri -
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Source: Al Jazeera - Falstin -
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Source: Ethaat Sawt Falstin -
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Source: Nedal Kamal Saleem -
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Source: Abo Anas Abo Ajwa -
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Source: Sahift Falstin -
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Source: Sahift Falstin -
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Source: Haitham Kareem -
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Source: Haitham Kareem -
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Source: Abo Kamal Abo ajwa Kamal Saleem -
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Source: Abo Kamal Abo ajwa Kamal Saleem -
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Source: Abo Kamal Abo ajwa Kamal Saleem -
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Source: Abo Kamal Abo ajwa Kamal Saleem -
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Source: Abo Kamal Abo ajwa Kamal Saleem -
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Source: Abo Kamal Abo ajwa Kamal Saleem -
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Source: Abo Kamal Abo ajwa Kamal Saleem -
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Source: Abo Kamal Abo ajwa Kamal Saleem -
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Source: Karim Hazem -
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Source: Karim Hazem Mushtaha -
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Source: Muhammad Alaam -
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Source: Saba news -
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Israeli Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
IDF: Earlier today (Wednesday), 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 in the area of Gaza City. The command and control center, which was embedded inside a compound that previously served as the 'Al-Zahra’ School, was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist 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 information.
This is a further example of the Hamas terrorist organization’s systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law. The IDF will continue to operate against Hamas in defense of the citizens of Israel.