Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On Thursday morning, December 28th 2023, between 10 and 20 civilians, including at least three children, were killed, and at least 12 others, including at least five children, were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike/and or artillery strikes on a residential area near the al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.
At 7:29 am, The Palestine Post quoted the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in a Twitter/X post, stating “8 martyrs and a number of wounded as a result of bombing near our al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis.” Shortly thereafter, The Spectator Index, Al Jazeera, and al-Masry al-Youm among other media and social media sources quoted an updated statement from PRCS which brought the death toll to 10 civilians killed – the Times of Gaza alleged that it was the third strike on the al-Amal hospital in less than 24 hours, and shared a video taken by a PRCS volunteer of emergency workers and locals rescuing four children in varying states of injury including one severely injured child, with three of them being taken in an ambulance.
Reuters News reported that Khan Yunis “came under heavy bombardment on Thursday morning from warplanes and tanks near al-Amal hospital, west of Israeli positions”, also alleging that it was the “third strike targeting the area around the hospital in less than an hour”, and that residents believed it was part of an attempt at provoking “a new exodus ahead of a further ground assault.” CNN’s Michael Holmes @holmesCNN posted on Twitter/X saying “16 killed east of Khan Younis in Gaza Thurs in an apparent Israeli airstrike – medical sources.” The Ministry of Health in Gaza was later quoted by Xinhua News and Aawsat News stating a total of 20 Palestinians had been killed and dozens more had been injured, with the PRCS condemning the alleged strike and posting to Twitter/X that there were “dozens of martyrs and wounded, including children.” @Inejmydarling posted “many were killed and others wounded in an Israeli airstrike…several children are among the casualties” and alleged that it was the second consecutive day of strikes on the area near the hospital. The Middle East Eye reported that five children had been killed in the alleged strike, and that bodies were “scattered throughout the area”, and in another post shared images of five wounded children being treated for their injuries.
The Ministry of Health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qedra stated to Xinhua that the death toll could rise further as the search for survivors beneath the rubble “of a residential building near al-Amal hospital” continued, and warned against alleged “deliberate targeting” of the Nasser Medical Complex and it’s vicinity in Khan Yunis. Xinhua reported that local sources informed them that “there were many displaced Palestinians inside the building” when the alleged strike occurred, and that rescuers at the site said “most of the victims were retrieved in ‘dismembered parts.’”
Users on social media shared the names of the identified civilians among those killed. Khaleel Ibrahim shared nine names of those killed “in the bombing of a house for the Hamdan family, opposite the eastern gate of the Red Crescent Society” – Ibrahim Tayseer Salah Hamdan, Suhail Abdel Fattah Issa, Shadi Saqr Fayad, Makram Akram Shannan, Sally Ghlais al-Ghaf Shannan, Tayseer Eid Saleh Wafi, Aisha Magdy al-Hassi, and the children Farid Mahmoud Ghaf and Yazan Hussein al-Majdalawi. Farid’s mother Mariam Saleh Joudeh Marouf was also killed in the attack. Tamas Abdallah posted that three children had been identified among those killed, but only named Yazan and Farid.
Tributes to Shadi Fayad and Suhail Issa were posted by their loved ones on social media – Khaled Issa called his uncle Suhail “a kind man, the owner of the good memory”, while Nadal Issa shared a photo of Suhail, a smiling, bearded man wearing a cap. Mosab a Fayyad, Arees Alabadla, and the Facebook page al-Qarara’s pulse shared images of Shadi Fayad, a young man with a bright smile, with al-Qarara calling him “the righteous son of Qarara” and Arees saying Shadi was reunited with his mother and sister “in the highest paradise”, and expressed condolences to his surviving sister and family.
In a Twitter/X post, the Palestine Red Crescent Society alleged that the PRCS-run al-Amal hospital had been bombed “for the fifth time in less than a week”, sharing a video documenting their work following the alleged strike on Thursday. In it, a PRCS worker stated that on the morning of Thursday, they were at the Khan Yunis ambulance center when they “heard several explosions nearby” which they gradually confirmed to be as a result of “a bombardment on a residential apartment east of al-Amal hospital”, with simultaneous “artillery shelling on al-Qassam street” the latter for which EMS teams retrieved a body and provided “initial first aid to the cases in the field.” They further informed that according to protocol, injuries were directed to the nearest available hospital, al-Amal, with the “extremely critical cases” being redirected to Nasser Hospital “for more effective management of the situation.”
A video shared by Blue Globe World News showed about five injured, including three children, being taken into Nasser hospital – the children weeping in distress, one with wounds on their limbs and face. The Times of Gaza shared an image of a doctor at Nasser Hospital in Gaza treating a heavily wounded man while on the floor, quoting the doctor “Today, I have this floor to sit on, and maybe it won’t be there tomorrow.” The Times also shared a video of a man collapsing in grief at the hospital, wailing “We can’t take it anymore.”
Another video, shared by @jala_leb, showed a toddler with a severely wounded leg crying and shivering in pain while being comforted by a man.
Amr Tabash shared a heartbreaking video of Farid Ghaf’s grieving father, weeping and carrying the body of his child wrapped in a shroud. Heartbreaking footage was also shared by Twitter/X user @Majstar7 of Farid’s grieving father clutching the lifeless hand of his little child, crying “I got the biscuits you wanted my son, take them with you, take them with you to heaven” – he had gone to get biscuits for his son and returned only to find out that his wife Mariam and son Farid had been killed in the alleged bombardment “on the house to which they had fled.” Another tragic video, shared by @DrShajulIslam, showed a child hugging the covered body of his killed father, crying “Dad, don’t leave me.”
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.
Due to the scale and urgency of Airwars’ assessment process, all images have been automatically uploaded to each assessment with the graphic filter applied to protect users. We have also included all images identified from the sources, which may also include any imagery of combatants.
The incident occured in the morning.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (34) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (25) [ collapse]
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Source: Mosab a fayyad -
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Source: Arees alabadla -
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Source: Al-qarara’s pulse - we are with you -
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Source: Nadal isa -
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Source: New republic news -
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Source: @Timesofgaza -
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Source: @missfalsteenia -
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Source: @MiddleEastEye -
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Source: @MiddleEastEye -
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Source: @MiddleEastEye -
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Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention a strike east of the Al Amal Hospital (مستشفى الأمل), within the city of Khan Younis (خان يونس). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Al Amal Hospital are: 31.351275, 34.298693.