(Previous Incident Code: ISPT181 )

At approximately 9:20 pm on May 11, 2023, at least one civilian was allegedly injured by a  suspected Israeli drone strike near the Abu al-Khair tower and the Qurum junction, east of Jabalia in the North Gaza governorate. The attack also reportedly killed 22 year old Abdul Halim Jawdat Khair al-Najjar and severely wounded 38 year old Alian Atta Darwish Abu Wadi, who died of his wounds early the next morning. Both men hailed from Jabalia and were alleged by multiple sources to have been militants.

On May 11 Wafa quoted a correspondent reporting from the Indonesian Hospital in the North Gaza strip “that the body of a martyr had arrived as a result of an Israeli drone strike, which targeted citizens with a single missile in the Izbet Abd Rabbo area.”  Shehab also reported on the strike on May 11 and claimed the injury of only one person besides the death of Abdul Halim al-Najjar. No known sources have yet provided identifying information on additional people besides Abdul or Alian killed or wounded by this strike. Mezan reported on the same day that at 21:20 Israeli planes had bombed and injured “a group of citizens in the vicinity of Abu al-Khair tower, located near the Qurum junction, east of Jabalia town in the North Gaza governorate.” This article announced that Abdul Halim Jawdat Khair al-Najjar had been killed, specifying his age and local origins.

On May 12 Mezan reported from medical sources at the Indonesian Hospital that Alian Atta Darwish Abu Wadi had died at around 05:00 that morning as a result of his injuries sustained at the same bombing near the Qurum junction, and provided his age and origins.

The Palestinian National Liberation Movement “Fatah” Information and Culture Commission released statements on May 11 mourning both men and corroborating that they were killed by an Israeli airstrike. @Mardawi15 tweeted on May 11 describing Abdul as a “martyr fighter” and “one of the knights of the missile unit in Saraya al-Quds.” On May 11 Khalil.alnajjar.967 posted to Facebook describing Alian and Abdul as “companions of blood and resistance.” Multiple social media sources asserted that Abdul was engaged to be married within a month of the strike.

Multiple sources reported on the funeral of the two men on May 12, describing the participation of thousands of mourners. The Associated Press, reporting on the funeral, alleged “The mourners wrapped the bodies with Islamic Jihad militant group’s flags and called for revenge against Israel, as both men were members of the group.”

While the source at the Indonesian Hospital, quoted by Wafa as well as Prealmedia, described a single missile launched from an Israeli drone, all other reports on this incident were more ambiguous, characterizing the strike as a “bombing” or “bombardment” launched by “planes” or “warplanes.”

Israel has not publicly commented on this strike.