Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Belligerent
Country
start date
end date
Civilian Harm Status
Belligerent Assessment
Declassified Documents
Infrastructure

Incident Code

ISPT0821

Incident date

November 2, 2023

Location

قطعة 4 في مخيم البريج, Block 4 in Bureij camp, Deir al Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.440652, 34.402793 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On Thursday, November 2nd 2023, at least 29 identified civilians, including at least seven women and eleven children, were reportedly killed, dozens of civilians (among them a woman and child) were injured and eight residential houses were completely destroyed as a result of an alleged Israeli airstrike and/or artillery shelling on the residential neighborhood in block 4 (Akl family square) of the Bureij camp market located in the middle of the Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera Arabic (@AJArabic) also shared a video of the aftermath of the attack on Twitter/X, emphasizing that the bombardment was very close to the place of a previous attack.

Eight deceased members of the Agel family were remembered in a heartfelt Facebook testimony by Mosab Agel. Mosab’s mother, Kholoud Akl (Um Mosab) was killed together with her daughters (Mosab’s sisters) Saja Agel and Raghad Agel, whom he called “my beloved ones, the joy of my heart, and my comforters”. His uncle, his “caring companion” Maher Agel (Akl), his aunt Samah Agel together with her son, Baraa Agel, also lost their lives in the attack. Mosab Agel also mentioned his beloved cousin Hazem Hamza Agel and his other cousin, the child Ola Agel (Jamila), among the killed victims.

A young man Maher Aqel (Akl) was also remembered in a Facebook tribute on November 10th by Alburaij1948 where he was called “a precious Moon of the Bureij”. It was said that he was injured a few days before in this attack in Block 4.

The Wishah family suffered losses, having lost 19 family members in the attack. A family member Yasser Hassan Washah initially wrote in a Facebook post that the sons and grandchildren of his late uncle Saeed Ibrahim Weshah who had died during the first days of the war as well as their children and grandchildren were under the rubble. He also showed a video trying to pull two of his cousin Saeed Washah’s children from under the rubble.

In a later Facebook testimony he mourned the details of the family members killed in the strike, in particular, the uncle Saeed’s wife, Salwa Wishah (“Umm Rami”) and her sister, Sawsan Al-Sayyid; Salwa’s son, Waseem Saeed Wishah; daughter of Salwa, Haneen Saeed Wishah; and daughter-in-law of Salwa, Amani Jamal Wishah. He further mentioned the deceased children of Amani – a son Ahmed Wishah* and the daughters Dana Wishah* and Alma Wishah*. Among the victims was also another son of Salwa Wishah, Muhammad Saeed Wishah who was killed together with his wife, Salwa Muhammad Wishah, and their four children: two sons – Amir Wishah* and Saif Wishah* and two daughters – Maryam Wishah* and Mira Wishah*. A one-year old injured girl May Wishah who was the only surviving child of Salwa and Muhamad Wishah, and appears on an image shared by Yasser Hassan Washah in a red sweater holding a comb in her hands.

A daughter-in-law of Salwa married to Firas Saeed Weshah was injured, but their three children –  two daughters Salma Wishah* and Elin (Eileen) Wishah* and a son Said Wishah* were all killed. The woman was pregnant at the time of the attack. She suffered a pelvic fracture and gave birth to a baby boy several days after her injury. According to Yasser Hassan Washah, she still suffers from the risk of infection. One of her children, Muhammad, survived. They were reported to have remained in the field hospital located at the Ibn Rushd School in Al-Zawaida for some time.

The social media source Alburaij1948 also mourned the death of Al-Hajj Eid Othman Eid (Abu Muhammad), Mouhib Issa (Abu Hammam), and Yamen Raed Hamad, all of whom used to live in the Block 4 of Bureji camp. Alburaij1948 posted his tribute to Al-Hajj Eid Othman Eid, referring to him as a “good neighbor” and attaching a picture of the elderly man with a grey beard. Alburaij1948 also posted a tribute to a young man Yamen Raed Hamad pictured in a black-red sports jacket.

Alburaij1948 also shared the picture of the late Mouhib Issa – a smiling young man. The death of Mouhib Issa was also mourned by his friend Sameh Al Batran who shared the image of Sameh together with a young boy. Watan news shared an emotional video of the late Mouhib’s wife where she was mourning her deceased husband.

Samir Ahmed Al-Afghani (Abu Ahmed) also died in the bombardment, and was remembered in a Facebook testimony by the family of Abo Salem Al Masri that shared an image of an elderly man in a black coat. Samir’s nephew Benzaher Ali wrote his own tribute to his uncle, calling him “ kind-hearted and kind to the young and the old.”

The Palestinian refugee portal informed that the attack caused massive destruction in Block 4 in the center of the camp where more than 200 people, most of them children and women, used to live. The Tiwitter/X user Jalal (@JalalAK_jojo) reported that eight residential houses were flattened, attaching a video with the apocalyptic scenes of the destruction, while Facebook user Fadi Sh added that these houses were located in the Akl family square in the middle of the Bureij camp market. RassdNewsN added that shrapnel from the bombing and house debris fell on schools housing displaced people.

Eyewitnesses and journalists reported heartbreaking scenes accompanying the devastating effects of the bombardment. A video by the Palestinian press agency Safa on Twitter/X shows a young girl covered with dust who was being taken out from under the rubble of her family’s building and who asked the rescuers: “Are you taking me to the cemetery?”

Another emotional video shared by @EekadFacts and many other Twitter/X users shows a desperate father looking for his four children, wife and father, sifting through rubble with his bare hands, calling their names and crying as he received no response. A Twitter user @ajmubasher shared a video of a young crying boy looking for his mother after the deadly attack.

A survivor of the strike shared his experiences with Al Jazeera. “My family and I were sitting, and all of a sudden, we heard a huge explosive. Everything was flying around us. We couldn’t see anything but dust and smoke. It was massive. The whole area is turned upside down … all in a second. That was my home [pointing to rubble]. Now it is totally in ruins. I do not know what to say. We are helpless.”

Shehab Agency initially reported about “dozens of martyrs, wounded and missing people”, sharing the gruesome images of the smoke arising over the rubble. Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip, said that the Civil Defense crews recovered 15 killed victims, noting that there were dozens of injured and missing people under the rubble of homes, and defense crews were working to recover them. Safa journalist reported about 22 civilians were killed. Only one local source estimated the potential death toll to be as high as 200 civilians. In a video shared by Twitter/X user @MunaHawwa, a young man present at the scene said that “there are at least 200 martyrs and missing persons”, but other local sources and news agencies did not report a comparable number of casualties. Based on the social media testimonies of the relatives and friends of the victims, Airwars identified 29 civilians by name that were reported killed in the deadly bombardment of the Bureji camp. Due to the lack of corroborating reporting for the higher casualty estimate, Airwars has put this casualty estimate to 29 civilians – though will update the range should further information come to light.

Al Jazeera reported that residents of Bureij chanted “a massacre, a massacre” as they covered the bodies of those killed in Thursday’s strike with blankets. Alhaya news shared the images from the funeral prayer for the victims where bodies covered with white clothes can be seen.

Dozens of civilians, including many small children, were reportedly injured. Al Jazeera shared a video that showed the arrival of a large number of children among other civilian casualties to the “Al-Aqsa Martyrs” Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, while the Twitter/X user @AlQastalps shared images of the wounded children.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces. The exact time of the attack is unknown.

*Airwars has quantified them as children based on the ages of family members and images provided by sources.

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 local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (8)

Kholoud (Um Mus’ab) خلود أم مصعب
Adult female killed
Saja Agel رغد عقل
female killed
Raghad Agel سجى عقل
female killed
Maher Agel ماهر عقل
Adult male killed
Samah Agel سماح عقل
Adult female killed
Baraa Agel براء الحنون
male killed
Hazem Hamza Agel حازم حمزة عقل
killed
Ola Agel علا عقل
Child killed

Family members (19)

Salwa Washah, Umm Rami سلوى وشاح
Adult female killed
Sawsan Al-Sayyid سوسن السيد
Adult female killed
Waseem Saeed Wishah وسيم سعيد وشاح
male killed
Haneen Saeed Wishah حنين وشاح
female killed
Amani Jamal Wishah أماني جمال وشاح
Adult female killed
Ahmed Wishah أحمد وشاح
male killed
Dana Wishah دانا وشاح
female killed
Alma Wishah ألمى وشاح
female killed
Muhammad Saeed Wishah محمد سعيد وشاح
Adult male killed
Salwa Muhammad Wishah سلوى محمد وشاح
Adult female killed
Amir Wishah أمير وشاح
male killed
Saif Wishah سيف وشاح
male killed
Maryam Wishah مريم وشاح
female killed
Mira Wishah ميرا وشاح
female killed
Mai Wishah مي وشاح
1 years old female injured
Daughter in law of Salwa كنة سلوى وشاح
Adult female pregnant injured
Salma Wishah سلمى وشاح
female killed
Elin Wishah ألين وشاح
female killed
Said Wishah
female killed

The victims were named as:

Eid Othman Eid عيد عثمان عيد
Adult male killed
Mouhib Issa مهيب عيسى
Age unknown male killed
Samir Al Afghani سمير الأفغاني
Adult male killed
Yamen Raed Hamad يامن رائد حمد
Age unknown male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    29
  • (11–14 children7–9 women6–7 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (64) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (54) [ collapse]

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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @irode0
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    Source: @AlQastalps
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    Source: @AlQastalps
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    Source: @AlQastalps
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    Source: @AlQastalps
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    Source: Al Haya PS
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    Source: Al Haya PS
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    Source: Alburaij1948
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    Source: Alburaij1948
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    Source: Alburaij1948
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    Source: RassdNewsN
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    Source: RassdNewsN
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    Source: RassdNewsN
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    Source: RassdNewsN
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    Source: Sameh Al Batran
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    Source: Abo Salem Al Masri
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    Source: Alburaij1948
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    Source: Yasser Hassan Washah
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    Source: Al Jazeera News
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    Source: @QudsNen
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    Source: @QudsNen
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    Source: @QudsNen
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    Source: @QudsNen
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Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention Block 4 (كتلة 4) in the centre of Bureij (البريج). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.440652, 34.402793.

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  • Imagery:
    @IRIMFA_SPOX

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    29
  • (11–14 children7–9 women6–7 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (64) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT0783

Incident date

October 31, 2023

Location

مخيم جباليا, Jabalia camp, North Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.532720, 34.498137 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (other) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On October 31, 2023 confirmed Israeli strikes on the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp killed at least 126 civilians, including 69 children. A further 280 civilians were reported injured by the director of the nearby Indonesian Hospital.

A second strike hit the same location the following day, though the full casualty assessment for that incident will be reviewed separately by Airwars. Israel has confirmed that it conducted both strikes, with the stated target being Hamas leader Ibrahim Biari, and “his base”, according to IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari. Munitions experts speaking to The Guardian indicated that the IDF used so-called bunker buster munitions in the strike: 2,000lb bombs with an estimated crater size of 40ft which cause an “earthquake like” phenomenon on impact.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights raised concerns on Twitter/X that the strikes may have been “disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes”. Though no official civilian casualty estimate has yet been conceded by Israeli forces, IDF Spokesperson Richard Hech acknowledged that the IDF knew that civilians were present, and said that civilian harm was a “tragedy of war”.

Airwars has identified at least 116 names of civilians killed, including ten cases involving the fatality of more than one member of the same family. In three of these cases, families were reportedly killed in their entirety.

The Al Qassam brigade official page posted that seven civilian hostages taken from Israel by Hamas militants, including three holders of foreign passports, were also killed. These civilians have been included in Airwars’ upper fatality estimate only, as they have not yet been otherwise corroborated.

Numerous accounts on social media of relatives grieving over unnamed family members killed in the bombing have also been accounted for in Airwars’ civilian casualty range. When one source mentioned that a civilian and “his whole family” were reportedly killed, but the victims could not otherwise be identified, Airwars counted two civilians killed in its ranges as a minimum. In cases where sources indicated that “children” were killed without providing further information on the number of victims, Airwars counted two children killed as a minimum.

Sources also reported that “a large number” of victims were still under the rubble after the strikes, with Hamas officials, quoted by the National, reporting that 120 individuals were still missing by November 2nd. These individuals have not yet been included in the Airwars casualty toll. No reports were found to indicate that there had been prior warning of the strike.

“Apocalyptic scenes”

Footage and videos released following the strikes showed vast craters, alongside dozens of onlookers standing on the edges and people searching for survivors. Local sources have widely referred to the bombing as a “massacre”. Pictures published by local and international sources showed entire housing blocks leveled.

CNN said the survivors talked about “apocalyptic scenes in the aftermath of Tuesday’s strike”, with one eyewitness saying “it felt like the end of the world”. “Children were carrying other injured children and running, with grey dust filling the air. Bodies were hanging on the rubble, many of them unrecognizable. Some were bleeding and others were burnt,” Mohammad Al Aswad told CNN.

The Washington Post reported that “Palestinians carried away the injured and dead on blankets and mattresses”. The Guardian described “body bags piled up with horrific speed at the morgue of the nearby Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, and then outside the building” and added that “the wounded filled [the Indonesian Hospital] beds or were raced to Dar al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where medics from the Médicins Sans Frontiers aid group struggled to find space even for badly injured children”.

“Young children arrived at the hospital with deep wounds and severe burns. They came without their families,” said Mohammed Hawajreh, an MSF nurse who was quoted by the organisation in a statement condemning the attack. “Many were screaming and asking for their parents. I stayed with them until we could find a place, as the hospital was full with patients”.

Similarly, @AJA_Egypt described scenes with “rows of corpses and shrouds…Jabalia martyrs piled up in the courtyard of the Indonesian Hospital”.

One source on social media (@rdooan) said the bombing left “a hole filled with the corpses of Palestinian families”, while another source stated that “the bodies of families are crowded on top of each other”.

Rescue efforts to identify civilians in the rubble continued after the strikes, with The Guardian reporting that following the strike, “rescuers combed with their hands through surface layers of a tangled mass of concrete and steel which hours earlier had been homes in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. They were searching for survivors, or the bodies of victims, which the immense force of an Israeli airstrike had left near the surface. Those trapped deeper may be entombed for months”.

Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense emergency services, told The Washington Post 20 buildings had been destroyed by the strikes, while Al-Arabiya wrote that the bombing “blew up an entire residential neighborhood”. One source specified that the location hit initially was the Al-Tarnis area of the camp. A number of sources qualified the bombing as a “massacre”. Journalist Anas Al Sharif described the destruction of dozens of homes in the “most populated area in the world”.

Victims identified

In many cases, victims were identified on social media by survivors, relatives or friends.

The Abu Al Qoumsan family

At least 21 members of the family of Al-Jazeera broadcast engineer Muhammad Abu Al Qoumsan were killed in Jabalia. Relative of the Abu Al Qoumsan family, Mahmoud Abu Al Qoumsan, announced on Twitter/X the deaths of his relatives, namely: the three brothers Abu Al Thib Abu Al Qoumsan (Mahmoud Abo Al Qoumsan’s father), Abu Anas Abu Al Qoumsan, Abu Firas Abu Al Qoumsan. He also announced the deaths of Abu Firas  Abu Al Qoumsan’s wife (name not provided), her two sons Wasel Abu Al Qoumsan and Mohannad Abu Al Qoumsan, and her two daughters Nabough Abu Al Qoumsan and Abrar Abu Al Qoumsan.

He also recorded the deaths of Umayya Abu Al Qoumsan (Mahmoud Abu Al Qoumsan’s sister), and of his sister-in-law, described as the wife of his big brother Thib Abu Al Qoumsan. While her name was not provided, the names of her children were: two daughters Rahaf  Abu Al Qoumsan and Layan  Abu Al Qoumsan, and three sons Abdullah  Abu Al Qoumsan, Mohammed  Abu Al Qoumsan, and Aboud  Abu Al Qoumsan.

Imam Abu Al Qoumsan (Mahmoud Abo Al Qoumsan’s sister), and her three sons Yamen, Zain and Yazeed were also reportedly killed. Um Mohammed Abu Al Qoumsan, an Abu Al Qoumsan relative, said that her sister “Jamila Yusef Abu Al-Qumsan, mother of Rami Ahjazi” was also killed in the incident. It is unclear if she is one of the wives unnamed previously.

Ra’ed Abu Al Qoumsan announced the deaths of his father, of his uncle Abu Firas, of his uncle’s wife and children – (the uncle, his wife and children have already been included above), of his sisters and their children, of his brother’s wife and her children. No names or ages were provided by this source, and it was unclear whether all of those victims have also been listed above.

One additional woman from Al Qoumsan family unit, Marwa Basil Abu Al Qoumsan was identified killed by Al-Jazeera staff on social media. It was unclear whether Marwa was an additional victim, or whether her identity matched one of the women reportedly killed but whose name had not been provided.

To avoid double counting the deaths of members of Abu Al Qoumsan family, where names were not provided by other sources, Airwars has considered these individuals were already named in the sources above in minimum estimates, though have been considered as additional family members in our maximum estimate.

The Siraj family

A man identified as Abdul Salam Siraj was reportedly killed alongside all the members of his family. Ismail Mohammad Foda posted on Facebook: “My friend Abdul Salam Siraj, his entire family was exterminated in Jabalia… his mother, his wife, his two daughters, two sisters, three brothers, and his uncle’s entire family”. Airwars has been unable to separately identify the uncle’s family, and so has counted these as at least two individuals in our minimum range.

The Khudair Ali family

Muhammad Ali announced on Twitter/X the deaths of nine of his relatives that he described as “my beloved ones, my heart and my soul, my support in my country, my cousins and my sisters, in the treacherous massacre in Jabalia camp”.

He identified the victims as Fadi Khudair Ali and his wife (name not provided), Muhammad Khudair Ali, Malak Khudair Ali (described as his cousin), Khadra Jaber Ali (his aunt), and Khadra’s children: Ahmed, Zainab and Muhammad. He also named his cousin’s sons Haidar and Kanan Al-Daour. Another source said that “Umm Fadi” was grieving her sons and daughters, all killed in the Jabaliya bombing.

The Masoud family

A friend of Omar Masoud “Al-Abeka” announced Omar’s death, alongside the deaths of his wife Donia Bashir and their four children (a son and three daughters). The source described Omar as a former prisoner who was detained for twenty years for killing an Israeli, before he got released, getting married and having children. The names of Omar’s family members were not provided by the source. Sources did not explain if Omar Masoud was imprisoned for being a member of a militant group, and also did not state if Masoud was a member of a militant group at the time of his death.

The Abu Sultan family

Nine members were reportedly killed from the Abu Sultan family, which one source said was killed in its entirety.

Omar Mustafa Abu Sultan and his wife Sahar Abu Sultan (Al-Hoor), and their five children (four sons and one daughter) Mahmoud Omar Abu Sultan, Ahmed Omar Abu Sultan, Muhammad Omar Abu Sultan, Abdullah Omar Abu Sultan, and their daughter named Shahd Omar Abu Sultan. Ahmed Omar Abu Sultan’s wife, and his daughter were also reportedly killed (though names were not provided by the source). On the deaths of the Abu Sultan family, on Facebook, Suhil Yahya posted: There are no relatives or loved ones left, they are all gone”.

The Hamad Family

Medhat Khalil and two other sources reported the death of Kamal Hamad “Abu Diaa” and his son (unnamed) in the Jabalia bombing.

The Al-Tanani family

Two children from the Al-Tanani family were reported killed by one source, namely Ahmed Salah Dhiyab Al-Tanani and Mahmoud Muhammad Dhiyab Al-Tanani. Their age was not provided by the source.

The Okasha family

At least 26 members of the Okasha family were reported killed in the strikes. This includes husband and wife Rawand Okasha Umm Kinan and Belal Okasha, alongside their three children, as reported by their relatives Mohammad Okasha and Abood Okasha. The children’s uncle Ziad Okasha Abu Iyad and his wife Manal Okasha “Al-Najjar” were also reported killed alongside their son Youssef Ziad Okasha and sons of their late uncle Naeem Abu Raed.

Another cousin, Raed Okasha, his children, and his wife, their cousin Muhammad Okasha and his three children Rakan, Amid, and Masa were also listed among the fatalities, alongside their cousin Yasser Okasha, his children and his wife, their cousin Nael Okasha, his children and his wife Islam Muhammad Al-Kafarna Okasha. A video posted on Facebook by Mohammed Okasha showed Yasser Okasha in combat gear wearing weapons, suggesting he may have been a militant. 

A post from Mona Sahle added additional names and offered her condolences to her cousin Nasser Okasha Abu Muhammad for the loss of Nasser’s daughter, her husband, and their children. Muhammad Okasha and his three children are survived by their wife and mother Samah Abu Saltah who was born in the Balata camp, and moved between Gaza and Nablus. Mohammed Okasha added the names Thaer Naeem Okasha and his family, and Muhammad Fayez Al-Zwaidi.

The Alyan family

Jehad Al Sharawi posted a memorial to her uncle Muhammad, uncle Hussein, and the Alyan family for the loss of: Youssef Muhammad Alyan, Mahmoud Jabr Alyan, Karim Majid Alyan. Ziad Alyan also posted a memorial for his brother Mahmoud Jabr Alyan.

The Omrain family

Faraj Abo Mohammed announced five deaths from Abu Al-Omrain family : Ahmed Akram Abu Al-Omrain, Reem Muhammad Al-Firi (Abu Al-Amrain), Muhammad’s wife, and of three children: Rital Youssef Abu Al-Amrain, Abdul Karim Youssef Abu Al-Amrain and Zaher Ramadan Abu Al-Amrain.

The Rayyan family

Reuters published a video of a Jabaliya resident, identified as Abdel Kareem Rayyan, holding a paper listing the names of the 15 family members that he claimed were killed in the Israeli strikes. Abdel Kareem Rayyan declared to Reuters: “I lost my whole family, 15 of them. They were innocent, just staying in the camp. What wrong did they do? All of them were killed. My sister’s house with her children, my brother’s house with his children, all of my siblings, no one left except me and my younger brother. Fifteen people, these are their names – they are innocent an kind, it’s literally a massacre, complete destruction. All of the alley, 20 houses were demolished”.

Airwars was able to identify the following names from the list he showed to Reuters: Raed Ahmad Rayyan, Hanna Rayyan, Sa’ed Rayyan, Maher Rayyan, Anwar Rayyan, Jannah RayyanRaed Sa’ed Rayyan, Hanaa Sa’ed Rayyan, Mahmoud Sa’ed RayyanGhassan Mohammed Rayyan, Israa Mohammed Rayyan, Mujahid Mohammed Rayyan, Masa Mohammed RayyanIman Saed Abou Hamdan, Karam Abdulkarim Rayyan.

Another man identified as Hassan Ahmed Rayan told Reuters in the same video “The house had 15 people in it, until this moment we cannot reach any of them. Since yesterday, we’ve been trying to find anyone, but we couldn’t. There is no equipment, no civil defense teams, it’s all personal efforts to remove the rubble”.

On social media, Ahmad Abi Ibrahim announced the deaths of his relatives his cousin and brother in law Raed Rayan Abu Saed, his “beloved sister Hanna”, described as Saed’s mother, Saed’s sister identifed as Anwar, and her sons. Janna is referred to as a younger sister with who they “recently celebrated her success in high school”.

Maher is described as a ” decent young man, [who] spent his life in obedience to God, between the mosque and the university. He completed his education as a doctor and volunteered to treat the wounded in the Indonesian Hospital at the beginning of the outbreak of the current war on Gaza.” Nassma Jamal published on Facebook: “May God have mercy on the martyrs of the Rayyan family, relatives and cousins, who were martyred while they were steadfast and sitting in their homes in the Jabalia camp massacre. The martyr Abu Saed Raed Rayan, his wife, children and some of his grandchildren, his son Saed Rayan, his wife and children, and the wife of cousin Abu Ghassan Rayan and her children. Fifteen people, most of them children.” Airwars has estimated the minimum number of children killed in the Rayan family to be six, though the exact number is not yet clear.

In addition to the victims identified alongside other family members outlined above, Airwars also identified an individual named Juma Muhammad Al-Shaarawi, whose death was announced by Baraa Samir describing Al-Shaarawi as a “good and decent young neighbor”.

Unnamed victims

As in many incidents of civilian harm, not all victims were named by sources.

The Izz Al Din Al Qassam brigade official page posted that seven civilian hostages taken from Israel by Hamas militants, including three holders of foreign passports, were killed. The identity of the hostages was not provided.

Airwars also archived a number of videos where relatives or friends spoke about their losses surrounded by scenes of desolation.

In one video published by @Roaastudies and by Middle East Eye, an unnamed Palestinian man present at the scene of the incident was recorded explaining to the camera that he had three children and “not one has survived”. He is seen collapsing at the site of the bombing screaming: “My three children are all gone! My three children, Oh God! My three children! That other day, he told me to come, he told me “Come Dad””. A man holding him replies “Maybe we’ll find one, maybe we’ll find one alive”. The camera holder then says, “this is my friend, he just lost his family”.

@ramiaalibrahim published a video including another Palestinian man whose name was not identified, was filmed walking around the rubble screaming “my son is a martyr, oh God!”, while an additional video published by @Yasser_Gaza on Twitter/X showed a grieving mother who reportedly “lost all of her children“.

On social media, one video released by @Palestinealaa19 showed a father and his son at the scene of the bombing – the young adolescent was crying over bodies in plastic bags of members of his family lined up on the street. The father can be heard telling his son “you can’t collapse, you can’t cry, this is our destiny, we are not better than them, look they are all around us, we don’t forget them and the other 8,000 people – without counting those under the rubble, at least we got out, at least we knew who they are”.

In one video published by @AJArabicnet, a child critically injured in the bombing asked his relative to give him water, while another video released by @Ahmed_GR00 shows a young girl injured with blood on her clothes. The source alleged that she lost the sight of her eyes but at the time of the recording was not aware of her fate.

@shamel__news published a video of two young girls and one young boy rescued from the rubble from Jabalia. @visegrad24 mentioned on Twitter/X the case of a young boy rescued from the rubble by rescuers at the site but no further information was provided regarding the child’s identity. Documenting similar scenes, AP recorded “Young men [carrying] the limp forms of two children from the upper floors of the crumbling frame of one damaged apartment building, while helping down another child and woman. It was unclear whether the children were alive or dead. Gray dust, apparently left by pulverized concrete, seemed to coat nearly everything.”

One Twitter/X the user @Mohammed78990 published a video of a baby followed by this comment: “painful scene from the Jabaliya massacre”. The same source explained that the mother was killed in the bombing. In another video released by @AJA_Palestine, a young man and his young sister were filmed sitting on the rubble crying over the death of their father. 

Overall casualty estimates provided by sources

Initial reporting following the first Israeli bombing on October 31st recorded “a number of martyrs” and “dozens” injured, with Bellingcat setting the initial death toll at “at least 40 killed”, followed by the Guardian which initially reported that “47 bodies were “recovered from the rubble after an explosion in several houses in Jabalia camp”, analysing video footage published by Agence France-Presse.

The director of the Indonesian hospital, Mohamed el-Ron, told the BBC that the hospital recorded 400 casualties, “including 120 dead”, the majority being “women and children”. In a press conference held at that hospital on October 31st, doctors announced that “at 4pm the Indonesian hospital received a high number of killed and injured after an attack on residential block in Jabaliya camp”. The medical staff stated that “one staff member lost four members of his family during the strike.” The same source added that the number of civilian casualties was bigger than their capacity. A number of sources reported “hundreds of injured and killed” following the two declared rounds of strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday. – with @ajmubasher reporting “more than 400 martyrs and wounded”, without further details.

On October 31st, the Palestinian Ministry of Health initially counted “50 martyrs and around 150 wounded and dozens under the rubble in a heinous Israeli massacre that targeted a large area of homes in Jabalia camp”. Later in the day, the MoH said it feared at least 100 had been killed in the bombing, and hundreds others injured, according to @ariel_oseran.

Airwars’ civilian fatality range reflects the number of individuals identified by local sources (both named and unnamed). As per our methodology, where specific numbers of civilians were not explicitly mentioned (such as reference to ‘multiple’ children), we have counted these as at least two casualties. Very few sources were able to report on exact numbers of those injured in the first strike, so Airwars has taken the number originally shared by the Indonesian Hospital of 280 injured civilians.

Israel Defense Forces statements on civilian harm

IDF spokesperson Lt Col Richard Hech acknowledged the Israeli strike had “destroyed a big chunk” of the Jabaliya camp. Hech declared that Israeli forces were aware that the area they targeted was an area where many civilians lived but refused to comment on any civilian casualties resulting from their actions. He justified the strike saying that their focus was on “a senior Hamas commander” who “sadly…was hiding again as they do behind the [sic] within civilians. And that’s all I can say at this point. (…)”.

Similarly, The Guardian reported that according to the IDF “some cavities seen in images of destroyed camp buildings were created by the collapse of tunnels that had been dug by Hamas, which [IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari] said chooses to put key military infrastructure below areas where many civilians gather.”

Military spokesman Jonathan Conricus quoted by AP News stated that the apartment buildings collapsed “only because the vast underground Hamas complex had been destroyed.” Similarly, AP News reported that “Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said an underground Hamas installation beneath a targeted building collapsed, toppling other nearby buildings. Conricus later said the main strike had hit between buildings. “We don’t intend for the ground to collapse,” he told reporters. “But the issue is that Hamas built their tunnels there and that they’re running their operations from there.”

Though the IDF did not confirm the exact numbers of civilian casualties, interviews conducted with IDF spokespeople indicate that Israeli forces have acknowledged civilian harm as a result of their strikes on Jabaliya camp. Airwars has therefore graded the civilian harm status of this incident as “confirmed”, and archived relevant excerpts from interviews in the ‘strike report’ section at the end of this assessment.

Combatant fatalities

The October 31st strike was reportedly intended to target Ibrahim Bari, described as a top commander of Hamas’s central Jabalia battalion, and a key commander during the deadly attack inside Israel on October 7th. Israeli forces believed that Biari had also been “leading fighting in northern Gaza from a network of tunnels under the camp,” according to The Guardian.

According to The Guardian, Daniel Hagari announced Biari’s death alongside “scores” of Hamas militants – without providing the total number of combatants killed. He added that the strike on the building Biari was in “led to the collapse of other things because there was a very extensive infrastructure there.”

@AvichayAdraee on Twitter/X released an IDF video in Arabic where Israeli forces claimed to have killed Hamas leader Ibrahim Al Bayari on October 31st in middle of Jabalia, alongside “many elite members” of Hamas. During a briefing (quoted by The Guardian), IDF spokesperson Hagari declared that “There are dozens of terrorists that have been killed with [Bayari], and the ‘metro’ underneath has collapsed, so it made this hole that you see in the area. We are dealing with terrorists that build the system of infrastructure of terror underneath the Jabalia refugee camp for a big reason. They want this picture of destruction.”

Hamas militants “strongly denied the presence of one of its leaders in the refugee camp” according to CNN, with AP adding that “Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem denied the military’s claim, saying it was trying to justify “its heinous crime” against civilians.”

With ambiguity around the exact number of militants killed, Airwars has applied a 12-24 combatant casualty range to account for comments such as ‘dozens’ of targets killed.

Munitions used

While a video of the moment of the bombing was released by IDF forces on social media, the IDF spokesperson reportedly refused to comment on the number of munitions used or their types or identify “which craters were caused by tunnel collapses” – indicating that Israel would provide information at a later stage, according to The Guardian.

The Guardian reported “at least five craters in the densely populated refugee camp, which weapons experts said were left by the use of multiple JDAMs – joint direct attack munitions – in the airstrike.” Former Pentagon munitions expert Marc Garlasco also told The Guardian that “the biggest crater at the site looked like a hit with a GBU-31.” “There are other bombs it could be. That one just fits best with all the evidence. The estimated crater is around 40 ft [12 metres]””.

A former United Nations weapons inspector Chris Cobb-Smith, told The Guardian, “The munition is almost certainly JDAM, either a GBU 31 (Warhead Mark 84) general purpose bomb or possibly a GBU 56 (Warhead BLU 109) bunker buster. Both about 2,000lb [900kg].”

According to The Guardian: “The GBU (guided bomb unit) is a precision-guided air-to-surface weapon system. It is part of the Israeli arsenal provided by the US and also manufactured by Israel under contract. These Boeing-manufactured GBUs use a tritotal, which is an explosive mix of TNT and aluminium powder, used commonly in air-dropped bombs. The Israeli air force recently posted images of dozens of GBU-31 being loaded on planes. “This fits our analysis. You can see the size of the bomb and guidance straps, which are the signature of the GBU-31,” added Garlasco.””

Garlasco also told The Guardian that “the type of munitions he believes were used would have met stated Israeli military goals of hitting underground tunnels, but also caused extensive damage above ground. If they are set to have a delayed detonation, which is one of three options on the bomb, they cause an earthquake-like phenomenon when they do explode. “JDAMs will burrow through the ground, and have a delayed detonation, causing the building to collapse on itself. This explains the extent of the damage,” he said. “Buildings also collapse due to the blast wave, not just tunnels”.

According to Bellingcat, on October 31, “Reports began to appear online about 2:30 pm local time (…) A Reuters live stream filming towards Jabalia and Gaza City appears to have captured a large explosion at approximately 2:24pm local time, consistent with the earliest reports of the strike on Jabalia.” This observation matched The Guardian’s findings, which noted that “The first online reports of Tuesday’s attack came at about 2.30pm local time. A Reuters live stream captured the moment of impact a few minutes earlier.” According to The Guardian, relying on Reuters video footage and other media content, the exact location of the strike was narrowed to buildings at the intersection of Al Mouhawel and Al Almey streets.

Note that at the time of publication of this assessment, the Ministry of Health had not yet released an update to the list of named fatalities originally published on October 26th.

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 at 14:30:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (21)

Abu Al Thib Abo Al Qoumsan أبو الذيب أبو القمصان
Adult male Mahmoud Abo Al Qoumsan's father killed
Abu Anas Abo Al Qoumsan أبو أنس أبو القمصان
Adult male killed
Abo Firas Abo Al Qoumsan أبو فراس أبو القمصان
Adult male killed
Abo Firas Abo Al Qoumsan's wife زوجة أبو فراس أبو القمصان
Adult female killed
Wasel Abo Al-Quoumsan واصل أبو القمصان
Child male Abo Firas's son killed
Mohannad Abo Al Qoumsan مهند أبو القمصان
Child male Abo Firas's son killed
Nabough Abo Al Qoumsan نبوغ أبو القمصان
Child female Abo Firas's daughter killed
Abrar Abo Al Qoumsan أبرار أبو القمصان
Child female Abo Firas's daughter killed
Umayya Abo Al Qoumsan أمية أبو القمصان
Adult female “Mahmoud Abo Al Qoumsan”'s sister killed
Thib Abo Al Qoumsan's wife زوجة ذيب أبو القمصان
Adult female killed
Rahaf Abo Al Qoumsan رهف أبو القمصان
Child female Thib Abo Al Qoumsan's daughter killed
Layan Abo Al Qoumsan ليان أبو القمصان
Child female Thib Abo Al Qoumsan's daughter killed
Abdullah Abo Al Qoumsan عبدالله أبو القمصان
Child male Thib Abo Al Qoumsan's son killed
Mohammed Abo Al Qoumsan محمد أبو القمصان
Child male Thib Abo Al Qoumsan's son killed
Aboud Abo Al Qoumsan عبود أبو القمصان
Child male Thib Abo Al Qoumsan's son killed
Iman Abo Al-Qoumsan أيمان أبو القمصان
Adult female Mahmoud Abo Al Qoumsan's sister killed
Yamen Abo Al-Qoussan يامن أبو القمصان
Child male Imam's son killed
Zain Abo Al-Qoussan زين أبو القمصان
Child male Imam's son killed
Yazeed Abo Al-Qoussan يزيد أبو القمصان
Child male Imam's son killed
Jamila Yusef Abu Al-Qumsan جميلة يوسف أبو القمصان
Adult female mother of Rami Ahjazi killed
Marwa Basil Abu Al-Qumsan مروة أبو القمصان
Adult female killed

Family members (12)

Abdul Salam Siraj عبد السلام سراج
Adult male killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's mother أم عبدالسلام سراج
Adult female killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's wife زوجة عبدالسلام سراج
Adult female killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's daughter ابنة عبدالسلام سراج
Child female killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's daughter ابنة عبدالسلام سراج
Child female killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's sister أخت عبدالسلام سراج
Adult female killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's sister أخت عبدالسلام سراج
Adult female killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's brother أخ عبدالسلام سراج
Adult male killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's brother أخ عبدالسلام سراج
Adult male killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's brother أخ عبدالسلام سراج
Adult male killed
Abdul Salam Siraj's uncle عم عبدالسلام سراج
male killed
Another family member of Abdul Salam Siraj's uncle عم عبدالسلام سراج
(source mentions all of his uncle's family were killed - no number provided) killed

Family members (10)

Fadi Khudair Ali فادي خضير علي
Adult male killed
Fadi Khudair Ali's wife زوجة فادي خضير علي
Adult female killed
Muhammad Khudair Ali محمد خضير علي
Adult male killed
Malak Khudair Ali ملاك خضير علي
Adult male killed
Khadra Jaber Ali خضرة جابر علي
Adult female killed
Ahmed Jaber Ali أحمد جابر علي
Child male Khadra's son killed
Zainab Jaber Ali زينب جابر علي
Child female Khadra's daughter killed
Muhammad Jaber Ali محمد جابر علي
Child male Khadra's son killed
Haidar Al-Daour حيدر الداعور
Child male Muhammad Ali's cousin's son killed
Kanan Al-Daour كنان الداعور
Child male Muhammad Ali's cousin's son killed

Family members (6)

Omar Mas’oud عمر مسعود
Adult male former prisoner - civilian status unclear killed
Donia Bashir دنيا البشر
Adult female killed
Son of Omar and Dunya
Child male killed
Daughter of Omar and Dunya
Child female killed
Daughter of Omar and Dunya
Child female killed
Daughter of Omar and Dunya
Child female killed

Family members (9)

Omar Mustafa Abu Sultan عمر مصطفى أبو سلطان
Adult male killed
Sahar Al-Hoor سحر الهور
Adult female Omar's wife killed
Ahmed Omar Abu Sultan أحمد عمر أبو سلطان
Adult male Omar and Sahar's son killed
Ahmed Omar Abu Sultan's wife زوجة أحمد عمر أبو سلطان
Adult female killed
Ahmed Omar Abu Sultan's daughter ابنة عمر أبو سلطان
Child female killed
Muhammad Omar Abu Sultan محمد عمر أبو سلطان
Child male Son of Omar and Saher, killed
Abdullah Omar Abu Sultan عبدالله أبو سلطان
Child male Son of Omar and Saher killed
Mahmoud Omar Abu Sultan محمود أبو سلطان
Child male Son of Omar and Saher, killed
Shahd Abu Sultan شهد أبو سلطان
Child female Daughter of Omar and Saher killed

Family members (2)

Ahmed Salah Dhiyab Al-Tanani أحمد جمعة صالح ذياب الطناني
Child male killed
Mahmoud Muhammad Dhiyab Al-Tanani محمود محمد صالح الطناني
Child male Ahmed's brother killed

Family members (5)

Ahmed Akram Abu Al-Omrain أحمد أكرم أبو العمرين
Adult male killed
Reem Muhammad Al-Firi ريم محمد الفيري
Adult female Ahmed's wife killed
Rital Youssef Abu Al-Omrain ريتال يوسف أبوالعمرين
Child female Ahmed and Reem's child killed
Abdul Karim Youssef Abu Al-Omrain عبدالكريم يوسف أبوالعمرين
Child male Ahmed and Reem's child killed
Zaher Ramadan Abu Al-Omrain زاهر رمضان أبو العمرين
Child male Ahmed and Reem's child killed

Family members (15)

Raed Ahmad Rayyan رائد أحمد ريان
Adult male killed
Hanna Rayyan هناء ريان
Adult female wife of Raed Rayyan "Abu Saedd" killed
Sa’ed Rayyan سائد ريان
Child male Hanna and Raed's son killed
Maher Rayyan ماهر ريان
Adult male Doctor killed
Anwar Rayyan أنوار ريان
Child female Hanna and Raed's daughter killed
Jannah Rayyan جنة ريان
Child female killed
Raed Sa’ed Rayyan رائد سائد ريان
Age unknown male killed
Hanaa Sa’ed Rayyan هناء سائد ريان
Age unknown female killed
Mahmoud Sa’ed Rayyan محمود سائد ريان
Age unknown male killed
Ghassan Mohammed Rayyan غسان محمد ريان
Age unknown male killed
Israa Mohammed Rayyan سراء محمد ريان
Age unknown female killed
Mujahid Mohammed Rayyan مجاهد محمد ريان
Age unknown male killed
Masa Mohammed Rayyan ماسة محمد ريان
Age unknown female killed
Iman Saed Abou Hamdan يمان سائد ابو حمدان
Age unknown female killed
Karam Abdulkarim Rayyan كرم عبدالكريم ريان
Age unknown male killed

Family members (3)

Mahmoud Jabr Alyan محمود جبر عليان
Age unknown male killed
Youssef Muhammad Alyan يوسف محمد عليان
Age unknown male killed
Karim Majid Alyan كريم ماجد عليان
Age unknown male killed

Family members (26)

Rawnd Okasha روند عكاشة
Adult female killed
Bilal Okasha بلال عكاشة
Adult male Rawnd's husband killed
Child of Bilal and Rawnd Okasha طفل بلال وروند
Child killed
Child of Bilal and Rawnd Okasha طفل بلال وروند
Child killed
Child of Bilal and Rawnd Okasha طفل بلال وروند
Child killed
Ziad Okasha زياد عكاشة
Adult male killed
Manal Al-Najjar منال النجار
Adult female Ziad's wife killed
Youssef Ziad Okasha يوسف زياد عكاشة
Child male Son of Ziad and Manal killed
Raed Okasha رائد عكاشة
Adult male killed
Raed Okasha's child
Child killed
Raed Okasha's child
Child killed
Raed Okasha's wife
Adult female Raed's wife killed
Nael Okasha نائل عكاشة
Adult male killed
Islam Mohammed al Kafarna اسلام محمد الكفارنة
Adult female Nael's wife killed
Nael Okasha's child
Child killed
Nael Okasha's child
Child killed
Yasser Okasha's child
Child killed
Yasser Okasha's child
Child killed
Yasser Okasha's wife
Adult female killed
Thaer Naeem Okasha ثائر نعيم عكاشة
Adult male killed
Thaer Naeem Okasha's relative
Age unknown killed
Muhammad Fayez Al-Zwaidi. محمد فايز الزويدي
Age unknown male killed
Muhammad Okasha محمد عكاشة
Adult male killed
Masa Okasha ماسة عكاشة
Child female Daughter of Mohammed killed
Rakan Okasha راكان عكاشة
Child male Son of Mohammed killed
Ameed, Okasha عميد عكاشة
Child male Son of Mohammed killed

Family members (2)

Kamal Hamad "Abu Diaa" كمال حمد
Adult male killed
Kamal Hamad's son
Child male killed

The victims were named as:

Jumaa Mohammed Al Sharawi جمعة محمد الشعراوي
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    126 – 136
  • (69 children22 women28 men1 healthcare_personnel)
  • Civilians reported injured
    280
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    Israeli Military
  • Known target
    Palestinian Forces
  • Belligerents reported killed
    12–24

Sources (106) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (152) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @TheUKAr
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    Source: @TheUKAr
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    Source: @alyredaa
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    Source: @WaheidiSaad
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Anas Al Sharif
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    Source: Anas Al Sharif
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    Source: Anas Al Sharif
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    Source: Anas Al Sharif
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    Source: Anas Al Sharif
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    Source: @alyelbassel
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    Source: @alyelbassel
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    Source: @alyelbassel
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    Source: @alyelbassel
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    Source: @Jales_tinian2
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ziad Emad
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    Source: Ziad Emad
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    Source: Ziad Emad
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    Source: Ziad Emad
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    Source: Ziad Emad
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    Source: Ziad Emad
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Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention strikes on the Jabalia camp (مخيم جباليا). Satellite imagery shared by Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) shows the strike location at the following exact coordinates: 31.533320, 34.499070.

  • Imagery:
    @trbrtc

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Israeli Military

CNN Wolf Blitzer Interview w/ IDF Spokesperson Richard Hecht

WB
Back now to our breaking news here in the Middle East. A massive explosion at the largest refugee camp in Gaza. Joining us now is Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht. He's the international spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces. Thanks so much for joining us. I want to ask you first about this massive blast that we all just saw. We saw the video at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza. Is there anything more you can, first of all, tell us about how this explosion happened?

RH
Hi Wolf. Thanks for having me. So we'll be coming out in the next hopefully hour with more data. But I can update you now that there was a very senior Hamas commander in that area. Sadly, he was hiding again, as they do behind the [sic] within civilians. And that's all I can say at this point. We're looking into it and we'll be coming out with more data as we learn what happened there.

WB
So can you confirm it was an Israeli attack that destroyed a big chunk of that Jabalya refugee camp?

RH
Yes, I can. We when we were focused on the target, a senior commander, Wolf, I will be updating you with more data as the hour moves ahead.

WB
But even if that Hamas commander was there, amidst all those Palestinian refugees who are in there in that Jabalya refugee camp, Israel still went ahead and dropped a bomb there attempting to kill this Hamas uh this Hamas commander. Knowing that a lot of innocent civilians, men, women and children, presumably would be killed, is that what I'm hearing?

RH
That's not what you're hearing, Wolf. We again, we're focused on this commander, again, who you'll get more data who this man was, killed many, many Israelis. And we're doing everything we can. These are, it's a very complicated battle space. That could be infrastructure there. There could be tunnels there. And we're still looking into and we'll give you more data as the hour moves ahead.

WB
But you know that there are a lot of refugees, a lot of innocent civilians, men, women and children in that refugee camp as well. Right?

RH
This is the tragedy of war, Wolf. I mean, we as you know, we've been saying for days, move south. If civilians are not involved with Hamas, please move south.

WB
I’m just trying to get a little bit more information. You knew there were civilians there.
You knew there were refugees, all sorts of refugees. But you decided to still drop a bomb on that refugee camp attempting to kill this Hamas commander. By the way, was he killed?

RH
I can't confirm yet. There will be more updated. Yes, we know that he was killed and about the civilians there, we're doing everything we can to minimize. I'll tell you, I'll say again, sadly, they are hiding themselves within the civilian population. And again, we are doing this stage by stage, and we're going to go after every one of these terrorists who was involved in that heinous attack on the 7th of October Wolf.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    126 – 136
  • (69 children22 women28 men1 healthcare_personnel)
  • Civilians reported injured
    280
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    Israeli Military
  • Known target
    Palestinian Forces
  • Belligerents reported killed
    12–24

Sources (106) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT0784

Incident date

October 31, 2023

Location

برج المهندسين في  شرق مخيم النصيرات وسط قطاع غزة, Al-Muhandeseen Tower (Engineers Tower), east of Nuseirat Camp, Deir al-Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.441886, 34.393011 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On October 31st 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike on the multistorey Al-Muhandeseen Tower (the ‘Engineers Tower’) located east of Nuseirat Camp, Central Gaza, killed between 133 and 164 civilians, including a likely estimate of 67 children.

Airwars was able to identify 133 civilians belonging to 14 different families, including 131 individuals where gender and ages were found, and another two individuals identified by their relation to the families though gender and age were not yet reported. These details were found through open sources as well as testimonies provided to Airwars, which enabled Airwars researchers to identify 62 children – another five individuals are assumed to be under the age of 18 based on descriptions and referenced by sources. In some cases ages were not found exactly but are assumed based on pictures provided by sources.

All ages where known have been included below and otherwise individuals have been listed as ‘children’. Where only names were identified without ages, Airwars counted these as adults. Airwars has included an upper range of an additional ten children, to account for references in witness testimonies to body parts of children seen in and around the area.

Dozens of others were also reported injured, including at least three women and three children. Most of the victims of the strike were women and children. Reports put the strike at around 2:13pm.

Airwars was able to identify many of the victims through testimonies provided by surviving relatives, including individuals like Hisham Joyfel who lost his mother and his seven children in the attack, Magdy Saleha, who lost his wife alongside five daughters, and Mustafa Muhammad Al-Hanafi, who lost his wife and four children.

According to Asma Shaheen, the Engineers Towers – consisting of at least 20 residential apartments – was attacked with multiple “missiles”, according to the source, and completely flattened. Pictures posted on social media showed piles of rubble where the building used to be. A Twitter/X user @AlHadath reported in a video that around 200 civilians used to live in the Engineers Tower, quoting the building keeper.  According to user Sahat on Facebook, 45 people were killed, among whom were “some of the tower’s residents” who had been forcibly displaced from the North of Gaza.

On Twitter/X, @AJA_Egypt showed a video of the location of the incident, with a journalist explaining that the tower was completely destroyed in the bombing and that no warning was given to the residents.

The journalist Osama Al-Kahlot explained in the video that efforts to rescue victims stopped at night due to continued heavy bombardment, but started again in the morning on November 1st.

Several sources, including Palestinian information center (@PalinfoAr), journalist Osama Al-Kahlot, and Twitter/X user @hassaneslayeh, initially announced more than 45 “martyrs” from the Engineers tower bombing. Twitter/X user @ajmubasher, referring to sources from Al Jazeera Live, claimed that dozens were killed and injured from the attack, while Safa News wrote about “a large number” of killed and injured civilians.

Twitter/X user @Bashar_Hamdan and NGO “Friends of the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine” later counted 50 killed civilians, dozens injured, and dozens still missing under the rubble.

Witness testimonies

On November 1st, Al-Hadath correspondent (@Alhadath_Brk) announced that about 200 civilians were still buried under the rubble and missing from the attack. As the status of these civilians is yet unknown, Airwars has not accounted for these victims in our casualty range – though we will update our assessment should more information come to light.

Based on obituaries published on social media by relatives referring to a number of civilians killed from a specific family unit without information available regarding their identity, as well as to account for the unnamed victims of the attack in media content archived, Airwars has ranged the number of civilians killed between 133 and 164. 

A video reportage from @AJA_Palestine included testimonies of witnesses of the airstrike. An elderly man said that there were many residents in the building, and it was suddenly bombed by three Israeli missiles. He added: “My son was going to the market to buy bread, and now we don’t know anything about him. We didn’t expect the building to be bombed.”  The reportage also showed a woman who was crying and said that the building was full of families, and entire families died. Another reporter said that there were 30 people inside the building and rescuers could not get them out. He alleged that women and children were attacked on purpose.

In reportage by Syria TV (@syr_television) correspondent Shorouk Shaheen, a young man who witnessed the strike said that suddenly four missiles landed on the building, and body parts of children were flying in the air. He added that engineers and doctors used to live in this building, and nobody expected they would be bombed by Israeli forces. The report said that the bodies of 25 children were recovered from the rubble, and approximately 25 still remained trapped. “My sister, sister’s husband and their children are still under the rubble,” he said at the end.

An elderly man said that he had gone down the street, 300 meters away, and saw parts of the bodies of young girls. He added that the “Israeli military is bombing us, they think we are their enemy. But we are civilians.”

One more man featured in the report lost his three sons. His sons aged 17, eight and nine years old were playing soccer when they were killed in the attack.

Injury estimates

Most of the sources reported a “large number” or “dozens” of injured civilians from the attack, many of them children.

ShehabAgency explained that “a number of martyrs and injured” of the Al Muhandeseen bombing were taken to AL-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. Twitter/X account @Times of Gaza shared images of injured children in a hospital, with some severely injured and in need of life support.

Abo Suhaib and Amal Abd Dura released pictures of civilians being treated by medical staff – some of them directly on the floor in an overcrowded hospital. Sahat Media showed on Facebook a video of several children injured in the attack, lying in what seems to be an ambulance, including a girl talking to the journalist.

Mayar Al Khatib published images made by Walid Musleh of the civilians killed and wounded: an injured man on stretchers, an apparently wounded (or killed) infant and an injured teenage boy.

Airwars identified the names of six civilians injured including three women and three children. As no sources provided specific information on the number of civilians injured, Airwars has ranged this number between 12 and 24 given the references to ‘dozens; among sources (as per our methodology), and will update its estimates once more information is known.

Rescue efforts

There were many videos and images published by local sources showing scenes of victims and survivors being pulled from the rubble. @EekadFacts posted a video on Twitter capturing at the scene of the bombing, a young boy being rescued from the rubble. Similarly, @AJA_Palestine recorded the moment where a young girl, injured, was rescued and carried away in a man’s arms.  @AJArabic published an aerial footage of the place of the incident, showing ongoing rescuing efforts.

Striking images taken by Hani Abourezq/Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda and posted on Facebook by Alhaya News showed rescue efforts amidst piles of rubble. One man was pictured while he was trying to listen to sounds under the rubble, looking for survivors.

Victims identified

Social media tributes helped to identify the names of 139 civilians belonging to 14 familiies – 133 of which were killed in the deadly strike.

Joyfel (Joufil) family

According to the Facebook condolence message by Khaled Ali Joufil, Hisham Joyfel (Abu Youssef) lost his mother, Umm Issam Joyfel, and seven of his children, including his only son 4 year-old Youssef Hisham Joyfel and his six daughters – 22 year-old Walaa Hisham Joyfel, 20 year-old Wafaa Hisham Joyfel, 14 year-old Ilham Hisham Joyfel, 11 year-old Sama Hisham Joyfel,  8 year-old Farah Hisham Joyfel, and 2 year-old Salma Hisham Joyfel. His wife suffered fractures in her spine and pelvis, but survived along with their injured daughter Nada Hisham Joyfel.  This post as well as a post by the grieving son and father Hisham Joyfel (Abu Youssef) included the pictures of the victims  – Umm Issam, an elderly woman in a black burqa, two young girls in colorful hijabs, an infant girl and a young boy Youssef sitting on a red carpet.

A Facebook user Eh S Mahmoud also offered a condolence message to Hisham, writing “May God give you patience, my brother Abu Youssef” and posting several pictures of his children.

Twitter/X account “Martyrs of Gaza” dedicated a special post to the 20-year old daughter of Hisham, Wafaa Joyfel, who liked to introduce herself as an “engineer” as she was a student of architectural engineering. It was written that on October 13, 2023, Wafaa had turned 20. She had many dreams and aspirations. She was intensely focused on her drawings, assignments, and competed with everyone. “Martyrs of Gaza” added that “Wafaa’s strong personality supported everyone around her. Wafaa was like a small mother due to her intense love and care for her siblings.”  Two images of the deceased Wafaa were shared – one where she was studying, another one where she was standing outside in a black coat and light-blue hijab, apparently holding engineering tools.

Her father Hisham also wrote a touching tribute to Wafaa, saying that “May God accept you in the gardens of bliss, the best engineer, the soul of my heart is loyal”.

Al-Sharif family

According to the Facebook tribute by Yusef Al Sharif, Al Sharif family lost ten family members. A grandmother Umm Assem al-Sharif was killed alongside her daughter Mona al-Sharif, her son Assem al-Sharif, her daughter-in-law also described as Assem’s wife, who remains unnamed, and another daughter-in-law, Aya Abdulbasit al-Sharif, the wife of her son Karam, who survived. Aya and Karem’s five children were also killed: their three daughters, 10 year-old Tasnim Karam al-Sharif, 8 year-old Tala Karam al-Sharif, and 7 year-old Joud Karam al-Sharif and two sons, Nu’man Karam al-Sharif and Kinan Karam al-Sharif.

Condolence messages for the surviving engineer Karam al-Sharif were rife on social media. Talha Balousha wrote a heartfelt post: “The mind is unable to think and the tongue is tied to speak.. I did not find words to console a grieving father who lost his small and beautiful family and lost a loving wife.”  She added that his wife and children’s bodies were extracted from under the rubble and asked God to inspire Karam with patience and steadfastness during this great affliction.

A friend of Karam, Hani Abu Mustafa, also expressed his shock and grief in a Facebook post. He wrote: “After the internet outage returned to my residential area… Every day I am surprised by a new loss of friends and comrades… The shock now was the martyrdom of the friend Karam N. Alsharif’s wife, his five children, and some members of his wife’s family.” He shared an image of Karam’s deceased wife Aya surrounded by three girls and two infant boys.

Saleha (Salha) family

Within the Saleha (Salha) family, a mother Najah Hatem al-Sadoudi, married to Magdy (Majdy) Saleha, was killed alongside her five daughters: Shaima Magdy Saleha, Shorouk Magdy Saleha, Nour Magdy Saleha, Shahed Magdy Saleha and Lana Magdy Saleha. Magdy’s brother Hani Salha wrote in his condolence message that his brother lost his wife and five daughters and asked that “God give patience to your heart and compensate you, and God willing, you will meet them in a paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth.”

Magdy himself wrote a heartfelt post dedicated to his deceased wife and daughters, sharing the images of the daughters being of different ages, some of them wearing hijabs.

Abu Jayab family

Engineer Ayed Abdullah Abo Jayab (Jiab) (Abu Khalil) was killed alongside his second wife (unnamed),and his sister (unnamed). Also killed were his children from his deceased wife Umm Khalil who had previously died of Covid-19: his sons, 19-year-old Khalil Ayed Abu Jiyab, Abdullah Ayed Abu Jiyab and two unnamed daughters.

Hosam Abo Nasser wrote a touching tribute to the late Ayed, calling him “my travel companion, my friend, the highest status in my heart.” According to Hosam, he spoke to Ayed just 4 days before the deadly airstrike, and Ayed told him, “I am in my house, where will I go!” Hosam added: “Greet Umm Khalil, your wife, as she is waiting for you there… We belong to God and to Him we shall return.”   A colleague, Mohammad Bazour, and a relative Sulaiman Abu Shwareb wrote their tributes to Ayed.

Ayed’s former employer, the General Authority for Civil Affairs dedicated an obituary to him, represented by its President, His Excellency Minister Hussein Al-Sheikh, His Excellency, Undersecretary Ayman Qandil, and all the Authority’s employees. Images attached show Ayed in front of a mosque with a Palestinian flag in his hands.

19-year old Khalil Abu Jayab was remembered as a talented back-end developer at AccessLine company and a computer engineering student at Al-Azhar University. His friend Mohammed Wisah described the late Khalil as cheerful, promising, ambitious, generous, helpful, dedicated to work and learning. He further wrote that Khalil “was one step ahead of most of the youth of his generation. He was a brilliant programmer, working as a back-end developer.” Khalil was someone, Mohammed remembered, who “you get to know and say, ‘This guy is a god.'” After Khalil’s mother had passed away, he created a website to pay tribute to her. Mohammed Wisah shared several images of Khalil – working on his laptop, smiling while being surrounded by friends.

Khalil’s brother, high school student Abdullah Abu Jayab, was also killed in the strike. According to the tribute by Mohammad Wishah, Abdullah succeeded and excelled and got 99.6% in the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawhiji) a few months prior. On this occasion, Khalil brought a large plate of sweets to the company, to celebrate his brother’s success. “The occupation killed them both, with all their dreams and ambitions and their family members,” Mohammad posted.

Al-Mubasher family

Hashim Al Sabbagh reported that Samer al-Mubasher and his family were trapped under the rubble of the Tower, and prayed for their rescue: “I ask you, O God, for a miracle from you, O God, to bring them out alive.” They were later reported killed.

An employee of the Bank of Palestine, Samer al-Mubasher was killed alongside his wife, Lubna Talal al-Agha, and their four children: three sons Muhammad al-Mubasher, Jad Samer al-Mubasher, and Zain Samer al-Mubasher, and a daughter 15 year-old Layan Samer al-Mubasher.

Sayyed Salem wrote in his Facebook tribute that Samer was “friend and servant to everyone at the Bank of Palestine,” attaching an image of Samer — a bald bearded middle-aged man — with his four children and another picture of him in a suit. Samer’s relative Mouhammed Sami Mubasher wrote that Samer “had a kind heart and a smiling face.” He shared an image of Samer’s three children with certificates in their hands.

Nusayrat official and Rami Mazyed also posted touching testimonies about the late Samer, with Rami calling him “the good-hearted brother and friend”.

Al-Jawwad family

Anwar Abdel Jawwad was killed alongside his daughter Suhad Abd Al Jawwad. His wife Yasmeen al-Mughrabi and their children Ahed Abd al-Jawwad and Yara Abd al-Jawwad were injured.

Suhad initially survived, but two weeks later died of her injuries. Aseel Al Jenabi, apparently Suhad’s relative or friend, posted a heartbreaking testimony about her:

“The last time you made me coffee and invited me I told you you are going to be a good housekeeper. You were happy that you became first in secondary school and that you made me happy new robes and a new bag. You died of your wounds two weeks later from the Mohandiseen Tower massacre and you joined your father.”

Aseel also added an image of the deceased Suhad – a teenage girl in a white blouse and red trousers.

Aseel Abd Jawwad, apparently a son of the late Anwar, wrote a tribute to his father and shared his image: a man in a blue shirt. He also added that his sister Suhad was killed as well.

Kifah Mughrabi wrote the impressive story of the survival of his sister, Yasmeen al-Mughrabi. According to him, she survived “by divine miracle after the entire tower fell on the heads of its residents.”  Yasmeen and all her children lost consciousness, but she heard the voice of her young son Bilal calling out while she was unconscious: “I don’t want to die.” She dug under the rubble, and held the hand of her little son. According to Kifah, Yasmeen was able to save all of her children – but two weeks later her injured daughter Suhad died.

Abu Saeed family

The airstrike took the lives of 23 family members of Abu Saeed family. The tribute by the surviving daughter of Khaled and Ahlam, Isra Said, helped to identify their names and family relations.

Isra’s father, the engineer Khaled Abu Saeed was killed alongside his wife, Ahlam Ibrahim al-Abd Abu Saeed (al-Quqa), and their children, a son Mahmoud Khaled Abu Saeed, and five daughters: Iman Khaled Abu Saeed, the engineer Yaqeen Khaled Abu Saeed, the engineer Aya Khaled Abu Saeed, Naqaa Khaled Abu Saeed, and Fatima (Fatoum) Khaled Abu Saeed, as well as their grandchildren who are described below.

According to Israa Said, her sister Yaqeen “had the innocence of the whole world” while her sister Aya was “rational and focused.” Naqaa Khaled Abu Saeed was a student at the College of Commerce, and was Israa’s friend and her sweetheart. Fatima (Fatum) was the youngest.

Israa also dedicated a special tribute to her sister Iman, having written “my big sister, engineer Iman, you were like an angel with your big white heart. Your departure hurts me, I swear, my love.” She added an image of a young woman in a beige hijab against the backdrop of the sea.  Iman Abu Saeed died along with her husband Iyad, their daughter Judy and son Zaid.

A Facebook user Abo Karam wrote in his post that “my uncle Iyad and his whole family were martyred due to the bombing of the Engineers Tower in Nuseirat,” apparently referring to Iman’s husband Iyad.

Mahmoud Khaled Abu Saeed was killed alongside his wife Asmaa and their children Khaled Abu Saeed, Rawad Abu Saeed, Mohammed Abu Saeed, and Layar Abu Saeed. Isra described her youngest brother Mahmoud as “the quiet, shy creature who memorized the Book of God.”

A daughter of Khaled and Ahlam, Taqwa Abu Saeed, was injured, but she lost her six children, three daughters Somaya, Jumana and Reman, and three sons, Suhaib, Muhammad and Ibrahim. Ibrahim was only a 4-month old infant at the time of his death.

According to a post by Isra, her injured sister Taqwa did not know about the death of her children. On 16th November Isra wrote, sharing the images of the six killed children:

“Today is the birth anniversary of my beloved sister, the only survivor from my family’s home after the martyrdom of 23 family members, including her six children. Soso, Suhaib Juman Muhammad Reman and Ibrahim, who is only four months old. She does not know until this moment that all her family, children, and everyone who was with her at home were martyred.”

Ahlam al-Quqa’s sister, Intisar al-Quqa, was also killed.

Initially Isra wrote about 22 victims, but her mother Ahlam Ibrahim al-Abd Abu Saeed (mentionnd above) apparently died later of her injuries. On November 10th 2023, Isra wrote a post, sharing an image of her smiling mother in an embroidered dress and pink hijab:

“My mother, my love, and the light of my eyes, is a martyr. She is the last hope I had in this world. I was waiting for them to say that you are fine and well. My love is gone, they are all gone and leave me.”

Al-Farkh family

Sumaya Ahmed Al-Farkh (Umm Ibrahim) was killed alongside her son Ahmad Abu Jazar and her daughter, Farah Abu Jazar.

Sumaya’s brother Mohammed Abo Al Izz wrote that “10 days after the bombing of the Engineers Tower in Nuseirat, the martyrs were my sister Umm Ibrahim Abu Jazar, her son Ahmed and her daughter Farah. The burial is tomorrow at 8 am.” Sumaya’s nephew Mouhammad Yousef wrote in a touching testimony “I passed to the mercy of God Almighty, the martyr, God willing, my aunt, the joy of my heart / Sumaya Ahmed Al-Farkh, and her daughter, the martyr Farah Iyad Abu Jazar.”

Al-Thawabta family

Eighteen members of the Al-Thawabta family, most of them women and children, were killed in the airstrike on the Al Muhandeseen Tower according to the tribute by Ismail al-Thawabita. He added that it was the second massacre of the family, while 16 members of the family had died before, in another attack.

A Facebook user Alburaij1948 posted a message “offering deepest condolences to our honorable family, the Al-Thawabta family” and mentioning “their wives, children, and sisters-in-law with their children. Their good father is Abu Hani and their good mother is Umm Hani.” He shared an image of the elderly couple.

The grandfather, Saleh Tarban Musa Al-Thawabta (Abu Hani) was killed alongside his wife, Nima Salama Salem Al-Thawabta (Umm Hani), their daughter-in-law Rehab Abdel Aziz Abu Daqqa and Rehab’s daughters Yara Hani Saleh al-Thawabta, Toulin Hani Saleh al-Thawabta and Lara Hani Saleh al-Thawabta as well as another daughter-in-law Asma Jamal Nabhan al-Thawabta, who was married to their son Rami, and their son Saleh Rami Saleh al-Thawabta.

A social media tribute by Ismail Al Thawabita also included the following names as victims: Imad Thyab al-Thawabta, Reem Saleh Tarban al-Thawabta, Maysa Imad Thyab al-Thawabta, Maya Imad Thyab al-Thawabta, and Ahmed Imad Thyab al-Thawabta.

The daughter of Saleh Tarban and Nima Salama and the wife of Mustafa Muhammad Al-Hanafi, Rula Saleh Tarban al-Thawabeta (al-Hanafi), was killed alongside their four children: three daughters 12 year-old Tala Mustafa Muhammad al-Hanafi, 8 year-old Mary Mustafa Muhammad al-Hanafi, 3 year-old Tia Mustafa Muhammad al-Hanafi and a son 10 year-old Muhammad Mustafa Muhammad al-Hanafi. A Facebook condolence message by Adel Zaroub contained a picture of the three smiling children of the late Rula, two girls and one boy.

Raed Al Hanafi also dedicated a condolence message to his cousin Mustafa, saying “with all sadness and grief, we mourn the family of cousin Mustafa Muhammad Al-Hanafi” and sharing an image of the three children holding school certificates in their hands.

Al-Sadoudi family

Based on sources posted on social media, the names of 10 members of the Al-Sadoudi family, all reportedly killed, could be found.

41 year-old Omar Hatem al-Sadoudi was killed alongside his wife, Ikhlas Jamil al-Sadoudi and their children:  two daughters, Lara al-Sadoudi and Amira al-Sadoudi, and three sons, Mayar al-Sadoudi, Hamza al-Sadoudi, and Hatem al-Sadoudi.

This information was corroborated by source Ahmad Abo Waseem, who spoke about the loss of Omar and his children, and attached an image of Omar in a suit.

Omar’s sister Aisha Hatem Al-Sadoudi was killed alongside her son Amjad and her daughter Rawand (Raound), according to Ahmad  Abo Waseem. 

Shaheen family

Based on obituaries posted on social media by relatives, Airwars identified 22 members of the Shaheen family killed.

According to Asma Shaheen’s Facebook post, her uncle Bassam Shaheen’s apartment, with 28 people in the house, was hit by the bombing, and the blast killed 20 members of the family.

Asma’s father’s cousin Osama Muhammad Ragheb Shaheen (Abu Mahmoud) was killed alongside his wife, their three sons Abdul Rahman Osama Shaheen, 14 year-old Ibrahim Osama Shaheen, and Anwar Osama Shaheen, and a daughter Samar Osama Shaheen. Samar’s two sons Abboud and Imad were also killed.

Among the victims killed in the attack was also Asma’s father’s cousin Adeeb Muhammad Shaheen along with his wife, their daughter Mai Adeeb Shaheen and sons Hamza Adeeb Shaheen and Ahmed Adeeb Shaheen.

Asma’s cousin, Alaa Bassam Shaheen, lost her life together with her husband, Ahmed Abdel Rahman, and their children: daughters 9 year-old Lana Ahmed Abdel Rahman and Noor Bassam Shaheen and son Amr Bassam Shaheen.

Last but not least, Salim Kahil was killed alongside his unnamed wife and daughters 5 year-old Tala Salim Kahil and Nour Salim Kahil. Salim’s brother Sufian wrote in a Facebook testimony dedicated to his deceased brother, his wife and children.

Eight members of the family survived the attack – Dr. Bassam Shaheen himself, his wife Wafa, Wafa’s mother Ghanima Shaheen, Bassam’s son Nour El-Din, Amira Adeeb Shaheen and her young daughter Sahar Omar Shaheen, Anwar’s young son Khaled Kahil, and Alaa’s young daughter, Dana.

Younis family

Adham Younis announced on Facebook that his cousin, identified as Ahmed Yahya Younis, his wife and their two children were killed in the bombing of Engineers Building. No names were recorded for the wife and children. Adham attached a picture of a smiling young man in a red T-shirt.

Al-Dabaki family

Airwars identified at least seven members of the Al-Dabaki family reportedly killed in the attack.

Ibrahim Hafez Al-Dabaki (Abu Fares) was reportedly killed alongside his wife and their two young children according to “Al-bureij gathers us” account, who also posted pictures of the man and the two kids. On social media, Ibrahim’s third son, Fares abu eyub, also published a tribute to the four members of his family.

A source contacted by Airwars, who asked not to be named, identified Al-Dabaki family members killed alongside Ibrahim Hafez Al-Dabaki, including Ibrahim’s two children Firas Ibrahim Hafez Al-Dabaki and Nadia Ibrahim Hafez Al-Dabaki. They also listed among the victims killed Haya Ibrahim Hasouan Al-Dabaki – Ibrahim’s wife, and the three siblings: Lili Saedi Majdi Al-Dabaki, Maria Saedi Majdi Al-Dabaki and Hala Saedi Majdi Al-Dabaki. The same source told Airwars that they believed others from the Al-Dabaki extended family were also killed in this attack, as an hour before the attack, they were told new family members displaced from the North just arrived to seek shelter in the area – though they were not able to identify the victims or to provide a number.

Khamees hussein on Facebook claimed that alongside Ibrahim – nicknamed in the post Abu Alam and his wife, 20 other members of the Dabaki family were killed in the attack, though did not provide their names.

T Asmaa F Ali’s aunt’s family

T Asmaa F Ali announced that her “aunt”, her aunt’s sons, daughters, and “all her family members” were all killed in the bombing. No names were recorded. Without further details, due to the use of plural (“sons” and “daughters”), Airwars counted a minimum of one woman, four children and two family members (adults, gender unknown) killed. As no more detail could be found, It is possible that these victims have been identified already in the assessment above – should more information comes to light regarding their identity, this assessment will be updated.

Unidentified victims

Some of the victims killed and injured of this attack remain unidentified.

@AJArabicnet published a video where a journalist is showing dozens of civilians using their hands to rescue victims killed or wounded buried under the rubble – at least four dead bodies are shown in the video. A video by @AJAPaestine featured two dead bodies on the ground covered with cloth.

Adam Nawwas published a video on Twitter/X of an injured person being carried away. This person remains unidentified.

Al Haya PS published a video of a very young child; the commentator explained that the child was killed despite the doctors efforts to save him. Twitter/X user @hassaneslayeh published a video of a man holding the same young boy in his arms, walking in a hospital; the source linked them to the Engineers Tower bombing. He was not identified. Twitter/X user Mahmudul Hasan @MahmudulHasa123 shared an image of a female journalist also holding the same boy in her hands, and the capture was “An unidentified child in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital from under the rubble of the Engineers Tower in the central Gaza Strip.”

@Shimo_M_K and Salwa Rashid published the same graphic video of a man holding the body of an alleged decapited child. The sources commented: “Another massacre in Nuseirat… The Engineers Tower was bombed over the heads of its residents… A child without a head and with his entrails outside his body is the best witness to our shame.” On Facebook, Ahmad Abu Shamis released a picture of what appears to be the remains (bottom part) of an infant killed in the attack, lying on a bloody towel.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.

Where possible, names and ages have been reconciled with published Palestinian Ministry of Health lists. With thanks to journalist Alexandre Horn from CheckNews for identifying relevant sources, and Data Tech for Palestine for centralising the datasets.

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 at approximately 2:13 am local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (10)

Umm Issam Joyfel أم عصام جويفل
Adult female killed
Youssef Hisham Joyfel يوسف هشام جويفل
4 years old male Hisham's son killed Matched to MoH ID 441105574
Wafaa Hisham Joyfel وفاء هشام جويفل
20 years old female Hisham's daughter killed Matched to MoH ID 409070992
Walaa Hisham Joyfel ولاء هشام جويفل
22 years old female Hisham's daughter killed Matched to MoH ID 407176585
Ilham Hisham Joyfel الهام هشام جويفل
14 years old female Hisham's daughter killed Matched to MoH ID 429440753
Sama Hisham Joyfel سما هشام جويفل
11 years old female Hisham's daughter killed Matched to MoH ID 434422663
Salma Hisham Joyfel سلمى هشام محمود جويفل
2 years old female Matched to MoH ID 442812434
Farah Hisham Joyfel فرح هشام جويفل
8 years old female Hisham's daughter killed Matched to MoH ID 437127525
Wife of Youssef زوجة هشام جويفل
Adult female injured
Nada Hisham Joyfel ندى هشام جويفل
Age unknown Hisham's daughter injured

Family members (10)

Umm Assem al-Sharif أم عاصم الشريف
Adult female killed
Mona al-Sharif منى الشريف
Adult female daughter of Umm Assem killed
Assem al-Sharif عاصم الشريف
Adult male son of Umm Assem killed
Assem's wife زوجة عاصم
Adult female killed
Aya Abdulbasit al-Sharif أية عبدالباسط الشريف
Adult female wife of Karam, Karam being the son of Umm Assem who survived killed
Tasnim Karam al-Sharif تسنيم كرم الشريف
10 years old female Aya and Karam's daughter killed Matched to MoH ID 433508397
Tala Karam al-Sharif تالا كرم الشريف
8 years old female Aya and Karam's daughter killed Matched to MoH ID 436863591
Joud Karam al-Sharif جود كرم الشريف
7 years old female Aya and Karam's daughter killed Matched to MoH ID 438402588
Nu'man Karam al-Sharif نعمان كرم الشريف
Child male Aya and Karam's son killed
Kinan Karam al-Sharif كنان كرم الشريف
Child male Aya and Karam's son killed

Family members (6)

Najah Hatem al-Sadoudi نجاح حاتم السدودي
Adult female Omar Hatem Al-Sadoudi killed
Shaima Magdy Saleha شيماء مجدي صالحة
Age unknown female Najah's daughter killed
Shorouk Magdy Saleha شروق مجدي صالحة
Age unknown female Najah's daughter killed
Nour Magdy Saleha نور مجدي صالحة
Age unknown female Najah's daughter killed
Shahed Magdy Saleha شهد مجدي صالحة
Age unknown female killed
Lana Magdy Saleha لانا مجدي صالحة
female killed

Family members (7)

Ayed Abdullah Abu Jayab عايد أبو جياب
Adult male killed
Wife of Ayed زوجة عايد أبوجياب
Adult female Not mother of children, 2nd wife killed
Khalil Ayed Abu Jay خليل عايد أبوجياب
19 years old male killed
Abdullah Ayed Aby Jayab أياد
Age unknown male killed
Daughter of Ayed (Unnamed) ابنة عايد أبوجياب
Age unknown female killed
Daughter of Ayed (Unnamed) ابنة عايد أبوجياب
Age unknown female killed
Sister of Ayed (Unnamed) أخت عايد أبوجياب
Adult female killed

Family members (6)

Samer al-Mubasher سامر المباشر
Adult male killed
Lubna Talal al-Agha لبنى طلال الأغا
Adult female killed
Muhammad al-Mubasher محمد المباشر
Child male killed
Jad Samer al-Mubasher جاد المباشر
Child male killed
Zain Samer al-Mubasher زين المباشر
Child male killed
Layan Samer al-Mubasher ليان سامر المباشر
15 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 804660835

Family members (5)

Anwar Abd al-Jawwad أنور عبد الجواد
Adult male killed
Yasmeen Mughrabi ياسمين المغربي
Adult female injured
Suhad Abd al-Jawwad سهاد عبد الجواد
Child female killed
Ahed Abd al-Jawwad عاهد عبد الجواد
Age unknown male injured
Yara Abd al-Jawwad يارا عبد الجواد
Age unknown female injured

Family members (24)

Khaled Abu Saeed خالد أبو سعيد
Adult male killed
Ahlam Ibrahim al-Abd Abu Saeed (al-Quqa) احلام ابو العبد أبو سعيد القوقا
Adult female killed
Iman Khaled Abu Saeed أيمان أبو سعيد
Adult male killed
Iyad (Iman's husband) زوج أيمان
Adult male killed
Judy (daughter of Mad and Iyad) جودي
Child female killed
Zaid (Son of Iyad and Iman) زيد
Child male killed
Yaqeen Khaled Abu Saeed يقين أبو سعيد
25 years old female killed
Aya Khaled Abu Saeed أية أبو سعيد
22 years old female killed
Naqaa Khaled Abu Saeed نقاء أبو سعيد
20 years old female killed
Fatima Khaled Abu Saeed فاطمة أبو سعيد
18 years old female killed
Mahmoud Khaled Abu Saeed محمود أبو سعيد
Adult male killed
Asmaa (Wife of Mahmoud) أسما زوجة محمد أبو سعيد
Adult female killed
Khaled Abu Saeed خالد أبو سعيد
Child male killed
Rawad Abu Saeed رواد أبو سعيد
Child male killed
Mohammed Abu Saeed محمد أبو سعيد
Child male killed
Layar Abu Saeed ليار أبو سعيد
Child male killed
Taqwa Abu Saeed تقوى أبو سعيد
Adult female injured
Somaya (Taqwa's daughter) سمية
Child female killed
Jumana (Taqwa's daughter) جمانة
Child female killed
Reman (Taqwa's daughter) ريمان
Child female killed
Suhaib (taqwa's son) صهيب
Child male killed
Muhammad (Taqwa's son) محمد
Child male killed
Ibrahim (Taqwa's son) ابراهيم
0.4 years old male killed
Intisar al-Quqa إنتصار القوقا
Adult female killed

Family members (3)

Sumaya Ahmed al-Farkh سمية أحمد الفرخ
Adult female killed
Aazar أحمد أبو جزر
Child male killed
Farah Abu Jazar فرح أبو جزر
Child female killed

Family members (18)

Saleh Tarban Musa al-Thawabta (Abu Hani) صلاح طربان موسى الثوابتة
Adult male killed
Nima Salama Salem al-Thawabta (Umm Hani) نعمة سلمى سالم الثوابتة
Adult female killed
Rehab Abdel Aziz Abu Daqqa رحاب عبد العزيز ابو دقة
Adult female daughter in law killed
Yara Hani Saleh al-Thawabta يارا هاني صالح الثوابتة
Child female killed
Toulin Hani Saleh al-Thawabta تولين هاني صالح الثوابتة
Child female killed
Lara Hani Saleh al-Thawabta لارا هاني صالح الثوابتة
Child female killed
Asma Jamal Nabhan al-Thawabta أسماء جمال نبهان الثوابتة
Adult female killed
Saleh Rami Saleh al-Thawabta صالح رامي صالح الثوابتة
Child male killed
Imad Thyab al-Thawabta عماد ذياب الثوابتة
Age unknown male killed
Reem Saleh Tarban al-Thawabta ريم صالح تربان الثوابتة
Age unknown female killed
Maysa Imad Thyab al-Thawabta ميساء عمار ذياب الثوابتة
Age unknown female killed
Maya Imad Thyab al-Thawabta مايا عماد ذياب الثوابتة
Age unknown female killed
Ahmed Imad Thyab al-Thawabta أحمد عماد ذياب الثوابتة
Age unknown male killed
Rula Saleh Tarban al-Thawabeta رولا صالح تربان الثوابتة
Adult female daughter of Saleh and Nima killed
Tala Mustafa Muhammad al-Hanafi تالا مصطفى محمد الحنفي
12 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 432175677
Muhammad Mustafa Muhammad al-Hanafi محمد مصطفى محمد الحنفي
10 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 434112330
Mary Mustafa Muhammad Al-Hanafi ماري مصطفى محمد الحنفي
8 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 437168677
Tia Mustafa Muhammad al-Hanafi تيا مصطفى محمد الحنفي
3 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 445104334

Family members (10)

Omar Hatem al-Sadoudi عمر حاتم السدودي
41 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 926676198
Ikhlas Jamil al-Sadoudi اخلاص حميل السدودي
Adult female killed
Lara al-Sadoudi لارا السدودي
Child female killed
Amira al-Sadoudi أميرة السدودي
Child female killed
Mayar al-Sadoudi ميار السدودي
Child male killed
Hamza al-Sadoudi حمزة السدودي
2 years old male killed
Raound (Daughter of Aisha) روند
Child female killed
Amjad (Son of Aisha) أمجد
18 years old male killed
Aisha Hatem al-Sadoudi عائشة حاتم السدودي
killed
Hatem al-Sadoudi حاتم السدودي
Child male killed

Family members (22)

Osama Muhammad Ragheb Shaheen (Abu Mahmoud) أسامة محمد شاهين
Adult male killed
Wife of Osama (Unnamed)
Adult female killed
Abdul Rahman Osama Shaheen عبد الرحمن أسامة شاهين
20 years old male killed
Ibrahim Osama Shaheen ابراهيم اسامة شاهين
14 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 804661859
Anwar Osama Shaheen انور أسامة شاهين
Adult male killed
Samar Osama Shaheen سمر شاهين
Adult female killed
Abboud (Son of Samar) عبود
Child male killed
Imad (Son of Shireen) عماد
Child male killed
Adeeb Muhammad Shaheen أديب محمد شاهين
Adult male killed
Wife of Adeeb Muhammad Shaheen (unnamed) زوجة أديب محمد شاهين
Adult female killed
Mai Adeeb Shaheen مي شاهين
37 years old female killed
Hamza Adeeb Shaheen حمزة شاهين
Age unknown male killed
Ahmed Adeeb Shaheen أحمد شاهين
22 years old male killed
Alaa Bassam Shaheen الاء بسام شاهين
Adult female killed
Ahmed Abdel Rahman أحمد عبد الرحمن
Adult male killed
Lana Ahmed Abdel Rahman لانا أحمد عبد الرحمن
9 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 435065867
Amr Bassam Shaheen عمر بسام شاهين
Child male killed
Noor Bassam Shaheen نور بسام شاهين
Child female killed
Salim's wife
Adult female killed
Salim Kahil سليم كحيل
Adult male killed
Nour Salim Kahil نور سليم كحيل
Child female killed
Tala Salim Kahil تالا سليم كحيل
5 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 440884815

Family members (4)

Ahmed Yahya Younis
Adult male killed
Wife of Ahmed (Unnamed)
Adult female killed
Ahmed's child (Unnamed)
Child killed
Ahmed's child (Unnamed)
Child killed

Family members (7)

T Asmaa F Ali's aunt
Adult female killed
T Asmaa F Ali's aunt's son
Child male killed
T Asmaa F Ali's aunt's son
Child male killed
T Asmaa F Ali's aunt's daughter
Child female killed
T Asmaa F Ali's aunt's daughter
Child female killed
T Asmaa F Ali's aunt's family member 1
Adult killed
T Asmaa F Ali's aunt's family member 2
Adult killed

Family members (6)

Ibrahim Hafez Al-Dabaki ابراهيم حافظ الدباكي
Adult male killed
Firas Ibrahim Hafez Al-Dabaki فراس ابراهيم حافظ الدباكه
Child male killed
Nadia Ibrahim Hafez Al-Dabaki ناديه ابراهيم حافظ الدباكة
Child female killed
Haya Ibrahim Hasouan Al-Dabaki هيا أبراهيم رضوان الدباكة
Adult female killed
Lili Saedi Majdi Al-Dabaki ليلي سعدي مجدي الدباكي
Adult female killed
Maria Saedi majdi Al-Dabaki ماريا سعيدي مجدي الدباكة
Adult female killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    133 – 164
  • (67–77 children36 women18 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (120) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (149) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @marebpress
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @sameer_alnamri
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Tala Ibrahim Bashara
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mayar Al Khatib
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mayar Al Khatib
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mayar Al Khatib
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abo Suhaib
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abo Suhaib
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abo Suhaib
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abo Suhaib
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Adham Younis
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Amal Abd Dura
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahmad Abu Shamis
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khalil Al Ghafari
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khalilalgafare
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @MhmdWishah
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @refugeesps
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mashhour Wihwah Abu Yazan
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    Source: Mashhour Wihwah Abu Yazan
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Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the Al Muhandeseen Tower (برج المهندسين) east of Nuseirat camp (مخيم النصيرات). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.441886, 34.393011.

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  • Imagery:
    @refugeesps

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    133 – 164
  • (67–77 children36 women18 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (120) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT0587

Incident date

October 25, 2023

Location

بمحيط برج التاج 3, Vicinity of Al Taj Tower 3, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.521604, 34.460559 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On October 25, 2023, an alleged Israeli strike on the Al-Taj building and surrounding areas killed at least 101 people, including 44 children and 37 women, and injured “hundreds” of others.

Lower initial death tolls were reported in the immediate aftermath of the strike, with casualty counts challenged by so many individuals trapped underneath the rubble. Members of the Ramlawi family were found alive after being able to send a call for help underneath the rubble of the fourth floor of the Al Taj 3 building. Survivors Khaled Saed Al Ramlawi, Osama Al Daki, Saeed Amer Al Ramlawi, Hamoud Ahmad Al Ramlawi lost 19 family members in the strike.

The Israel Defense Forces published a video of what it said were strikes on a “Hamas terror tunnel,” without further details. In the footage a large building and its surrounding area is struck multiple times within a second, with a number of what are potentially secondary explosions occurring six seconds later. Airwars was able to geolocate the footage and confirm the large building in the frame was the Al-Taj. There was no further details on the damage to the alleged tunnel network.

@ShehabAgency initially reported that 40 bodies were recovered from the rubble alongside dozens of wounded people following the Israeli airstrike on Al-Taj Building 3 and Yarmouk and Al-Jalaa Streets. @naveedmarfani put the number of killed at 25, adding that “hundreds” were injured, while Al Bawaba News quoting the Palestinian Ministry of Interior reported more than 100 people had been wounded. The day after the incident, @d_f115 reported that the death count had reached 61 and the search was still going on for other missing people under the rubble. @QamareAlam21 specified that more than 120 people, including “8 entire families” were buried under the rubble.

The Sharaf family

At least 37 members of the Sharaf family across three generations were reported killed in the strike. Omar Sharaf (Abu Ismail) and his wife Umm Ismail Sharaf lost at least six of their children and children-in-law, as well as 16 grandchildren. Omar’s two brothers and their families were also killed in the strike: Abu Osama Sharaf, Osama’s wife, three children and grandchild, and Dr Khaled Sharaf, his wife and their three children.

The names of those killed were mostly identified by relatives on social media, and are identified below.

Omar and Ismail Sharaf’s children and grandchildren

Omar and Ismail’s Sharaf’s daughter-in-law Islam Baalousha (wife of their surviving son Yousef) was reportedly killed alongside her three daughters Malak Sharaf*, Yasmine Sharaf*, Nour Sharaf* and son Malik Sharaf*. A video posted by a cousin, named Yousef Sharaf, shows Yousef Sharaf Abu Malik mourning for his wife Islam and four children who were all killed. @Mansorryaan tweeted the day after the incident that their colleague Yousef’s wife, children, and other relatives were still under the rubble. Yousef Sharaf, a program producer at Shehab News Agency, tweeted that “my father, my mother, my wife, my children, and most of my brothers and their families were martyred” and described his son Malik as “The son of my heart, my darling, my successor, and my heir, like the breeze, he lived among us, flying with joy and spreading love, just like his features in this picture, and in all the pictures!” @ShehabAgency also tweeted a condolence message for their journalist Yousef.

Omar and Umm Ismail’s son Ismail Sharaf, his wife and their son Omar Sharaf* were also killed. Ismail’s brother Yousef (@_Ysharaf) described Omar as Ismail’s “first joy, his great redress, and his great compensation”, and that Omar “came carrying joy on the day of Tarwiyah, which preceded the last Eid al-Adha, and he left life with his father, mother, and my family during the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood”.

Omar and Umm Ismail’s son Abdul Rahim Sharaf, his wife Aliaa Ramzi Al Hinawi, their son* and their three daughters* were killed. Nermin Hinawi posted a condolence message for his cousin Dr. Aliaa Ramzi Al Hinawi, her husband, and her four children. Images show the parents and four children, including an infant, with all of the children looking to be under the age of 10.

Omar and Umm Ismail’s son Salah Sharaf and his son Hamza Sharaf* were also all killed. Omar and Umm Ismail’s daughter Asma Sharaf, her daughter Hala Dawoud*, her daughter Sama Dawoud*, her daughter Jour Dawoud*, and her daughter Lana Dawoud* were killed. A post by Sereen Daoud described Lana as “her father’s firstborn and his first joy. Lana is the superior, ambitious, dreamer; She used to stay up with me and sit with me during the war nights, telling me about her hopes and dreams. She competed with me in memorizing the Qur’an.”

Hala was described as “the spontaneous, kind, and innocent woman…She would ask me every night to comb her hair and play with her so she would forget the nights of terror we lived through. She stood next to me in the kitchen while I was preparing food and whispered in my ear: “Auntie, I make you the best food ever.” On the last night she spent at my house, she woke up to the sound of bombing and panic filled her heart, asking me; Auntie, do your feet hurt from fear as much as they hurt me?”

Sama was described as “the energetic and responsible one (the logistics person in charge at home), as her father calls her. She was older than her age and saw more of life than she could bear. During the hours of bombing and evacuation, she was the one who packed bags.”

Jour was described as “the love of the house, her mother’s darling, and my daughter Sandy’s companion in kindergarten. They always shared a lunch box in kindergarten. They played together and quarreled innocently over a piece of candy or a toy. Jour left, leaving her friend Sandy alone.” Asma was described as “We used to share together in making bread and preparing food during the war days… She would stand next to me in the kitchen, we would prepare food and talk together, and every night she would prepare the pot of tea that my son Ahmed loved from under her hands”.

Omar and Umm Ismail’s other daughter Alaa Sharaf and her daughters* were killed. @_Ysharaf refers to his sister Alaa as “the apple of my heart” and only mentions that her “daughters” were killed, which Airwars has quantified as two casualties.

Abu Osama Sharaf’s family

Omar Sharaf (Abu Ismail)’s brother Abu Osama Sharaf, his wife, his daughter Wissam, his daughter Israa, his daughter Doaa, and Doaa’s child Obaida* were killed. Fatma Mohammed referred to Doaa Sharaf as a media personality, adding that she was killed along with her child and that some of her family members were still under the rubble.

Dr. Khaled Sharaf’s family

Omar Sharaf’s brother Dr. Khaled Sharaf, his wife, his son Abdullah, his son Karim, and his daughter Jodi were killed. Family member @_Ysharaf identified Khaled Sharaf as a “doctor and lecturer at Al-Aqsa University”. A nephew of Omar Sharaf (Abu Ismail) stated that approximately 50 members of the family had been killed and that “All the words of the Arabic language cannot describe the sadness and oppression in our hearts over this great affliction”. Other family members, including @_Ysharaf, identified 37 members of the family killed.

The Radwan family

At least 15 members of the Radwan family were reportedly killed in the strike, across three generations.

Hassan Radwan and other members of the Al-Mahlawi family provided the names of the family members killed: grandmother Buthaina Radwan (Al-Mahlawi), killed alongside her son Mahmoud Awni Al-Mahlawi, her son Osama Awni Al-Mahlawi, her daughter Faten Awni Al-Mahlawi, her son Muhammad Awni Al-Mahlawi, Muhammad’s wife Asmaa Jihad Abu Al-Amrain (Al-Mahlawi), Muhammad and Asmaa’s child Rawad Muhammad Al-Mahlawi*, their daughter Habiba Muhammad Al-Mahlawi*, their son Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Al-Mahlawi*.

Buthaina’s daughter Mona Aouni Al-Mahlawi was also killed alongside her husband Walid Abdel Haq Al Mahlawi, their daughters Nagham Walid Al Mahlawi*, Nada Walid Al Mahlawi*, Hoda Walid Al-Mahlawi*, and son Moaz Walid Al-Mahlawi*.

Hassan Radwan Posted a condolence message for his wife’s aunt, Buthaina, along with her children “the friend Muhammad” and his wife and three children, “the lawyer Mahmoud”, and Mona and her husband Walid and their four children. Early reports noted that two of Buthaina’s other children Osama and Faten were still under the rubble, though they were later reported killed.

The Al-Banna family

Mufid Fayez Al-Banna and his wife Nourhan Nour Al-Din (Al-Banna) were killed and their daughter Asmaa Al Banna was injured. Mahmoud Hamada described Mufid Fayez as his “dear uncle, my father-in-law, my friend, and my brother” adding that “eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your departure, our dear martyr.” Asmaa Al Banna was rescued from under the rubble after four days, and one source described it as “Asmaa is living with a divine miracle”. Asmaa’s brother Mohammad Al Banna mourned for his parents and reported that as of November 6th Asmaa was still being treated in intensive care.

The Jarada family

At least 17 members of the Jarada family were reported killed across three generations. Their names were identified by family members on social media.

Marwan Al Maidana was among those posting condolence messages for the following family members: the father Nasr Rabah Jarada (Abu Tamer), his wife Naama Abu Al-Ezz (Jarada), their daughters Nisreen Nasr Jarada, Haneen Nasr Jarada, and Tamer Nasr Jarada.

Nasr and Naama’s grandchildren were also killed, identified as Nasr Mahmoud Jarada* and Abdullah Mahmoud Jarada*.

Nasr’s brother Harbi Rabah Jarada (Abou Rabah), Harbi’s wife Fawzia Abu Al-Auf (Jarada), their son Rabah Harbi Jarada (Abu Omar), Rabah’s wife Ruba Al-Qaisi (Jarada), Rabah and Ruba’s sons Harbi Rabah Jarada*, Karim Rabah Jarada*, and Muhammad Harbi Jarada (Abu Yusef) were all also killed. Their daughter in law, wife of Muhammad, Hala Saleh (Jarada), was also reported killed alongside her daughtersHabiba Muhammad Jarada* and Maymana Muhammad Jarada* were killed. In the post by Marwan Al Maidana, Rabah Harbi Jarada (Abu Omar) is referred to as a “retired Colonel”, Harbi Rabah Jarada (Abou Rabah) is referred to as “retired Major General” and Muhammad Harbi Jarada (Abu Yusef) as “Colonel”. As a retired member of armed forces, Rabah would not be classified as a combatant.

Reem Jawad EL-samouni expressed sympathy to Marwa N. Jarad, head of her family who lost 17 members of her family, adding that at the time of posting, the day after the attack, other members of her family were still under the rubble.

The Muhanna family

At least five members of the Muhanna family were reportedly killed in the strike. A post by Yousif A Muhanna mourned the loss of his family members: his father Adnan Muhanna, his mother Ibtisam Hosni Muhanna, his sister Dima Adnan Muhanna, his wife Rawand Al-Banna, and his son Adnan Youssef Adnan Muhanna*. Yousif also posted a picture of his son Adnan describing him as “My son, the lover of my soul (Adnan). All I know is that in losing you, I lose myself.”

A tweet from @fidaazaanin told the story of someone from the “Muhanna’s house” (seeming to indicate the family above) who lost their whole family in the bombing – mother, father, brother, nephew, except for one of their brothers who went out to the store to get food just before the bombing, and was the only one to survive. At the time, 120 people were still reportedly under the rubble.

The Mahdi family

At least seven members of the Mahdi family were reportedly killed in the strike. A post from Abd Rahim Mahdi memorialized members of his family killed: Khalil Akram Mahdi, Khalil’s wife Sali Ibrahim Mahdi (Labed), Khalil and Sali’s daughter Nesreen Khalil Mahdi*, Khalil and Sali’s daughter Talin Khalil Mahdi*, Khalil and Sali’s son Akram Khalil Mahdi*. Khalil and Sali’s daughter Loreen Khalil Mahdi, 6 months old, was also injured. Khalil’s cousins Ahmad Zakariya Mahdi and Hind Mahdi were also killed. ABO MANAR posted a condolence message for his brother-in-law “Ibrahim Labad” Abu Muhammad” whose daughter Sali, her husband Khalil, and their four children were killed. However according to the brother of Khalil, his 6-month-old daughter (Loreen) survived the attack and was found in her mother’s arms. A cousin of Khalil, Ahmed, and Hind (mother of Ibrahim Al-Zant) named Abd Rahim Mahdi posted a condolence message for the Mahdi family.

The Ramlawi family

Khaled posted a memorial for his family members killed, identifying them as: his father Saeed Al-Ramlawi (Abu Amer), his mother Masara Al-Ramlawi (Umm Amer), his daughter Alina Al-Ramlawi (3 years old), his brother Amer Al-Ramlawi (Abu Al-Saeed), Amer’s son Ibrahim Al-Ramlawi (12 years old), Amer’s daughter Ruba Al-Ramlawi (17 years old), killed, Khaled’s brother Muhammad Al-Ramlawi (Abu Al-Baraa), Muhammad’s wife Heba Al-Ramlawi (Umm Al-Baraa), Khaled’s sister Rami Al-Ramlawi (14 years old), Khaled’s sister Rana Ramlawi, Khaled’s sister Ritaal Ramlawi (6 years old), Khaled’s brother Ahmed’s wife Abeer Al-Ramlawi (Umm Yahya), Ahmed and Abeer’s daughter Nour Al-Ramlawi (19 years old), Ahmed and Abeer’s daughter Malak Al-Ramlawi (10 years old), Khaled’s brother Hazem’s wife Yasmine Al-Ramlawi (Umm Anas), Hazem and Yasmine’s son Anas Al-Ramlawi (12 years old), Hazem and Yasmine’s son Saeed Al-Ramlawi (5 years old), Hazem and Yasmine’s daughter Judy Ramlawi (7 years old), killed, and Etaf Al-Ramlawi. Khaled’s daughter, Sham Al-Ramlawi, was also injured.

According to @nanouhnm, members of the Ramlawi family placed a distress call from under the rubble and were then rescued by the defense crews. Flowra Nu’man Al Masri posted the voice call from the family, where they said “We are sending a call for help from under the rubbles of 4th floor of Al Taj 3 building and our names are Khaled Saed Al Ramlawi, Osama Al Daki, Saeed Amer Al Ramlawi, Hamoud Ahmad Al Ramlawi.” The source added that the survivors were recovering well, while another source added that the family members had been under the rubble for 8 hours before they were rescued.

Soha Mohamedeen posted a condolence message for his colleague and brother Amer Al-Ramlawi (Abu Al-Saeed) who described as being “respected, able, and wise”. Khaled Al Ramlaw mourned “the martyrdom of my sister, the love of my heart and the joy of my eyes (Yasmine Ahmed Al-Ramlawi) and her eldest son, the martyr (Anas Hazem Al-Ramlawi)”.

Khaled Al Ramlawi wrote about spending the morning of the strike with Alina Al-Ramlawi: “I woke up and found Sham and Alina playing, so I called Sham, and Alina came with her, as if she was telling me these are my last hours in this world. I want to play with you, because you will never see me again. Alina went as a martyr to a merciful and kind God, and was buried in the same red clothes of hers. As for Sham, she remained alive as a witness to the crime. She was injured in the face and foot, after thousands of tons of explosives were thrown at us… Will Sham remember her sister, Alina, when she grows up?”

The Bakhit family

A post by Majid Said memorialized Mr. Saeed Bakhit “Abu Osama” and his sons and Dr. Muhammad Bakhit *Abu Yasser* and his family.

An additional victim was mentioned by Mohmmad Shabir, who posted a condolence message for his uncle, Sakhr Yahya Shabir, who was killed.

The Mansour family also put out an appeal to have their family members rescued the day after the bombing noting that members of their family were still missing under the rubble.

Images posted by @Yasser_Gaza show men, women, and children being treated for their injuries in Al-Shifa hospital. Medical services – Gaza Strip posted images of the ambulance and emergency crews at the General Directorate of Ansar Station pulling killed and injured civilians from the rubble. According to @alyredaa, more than 500 people were in the residential tower when the bombing occurred.

The location of the strikes was identified by @MOHGaza1994 as being the Al-Taj building, Al-Yarmouk Street, Al-Jalaa Street, and Al-Sharq Bakery, as well as the houses around them, resulting in the destruction of dozens of homes, with one source mentioning that the “Al Yarmouk residential neighborhood” was completely destroyed. A tweet from @Osint613 mentioned the strike appeared to target an alleged tunnel network.

Yasmin Hasweh reported that the Taj Residential Towers, which is 12 floors, was flattened by more than 30 bunker-buster bombs which struck the residential square in less than five minutes. The source, along with many others including @OrientNews, specified that the strike occurred without prior warning. Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.

This incident occurred the day before the Palestinian Ministry of Health published its list of nearly 7,000 names on October 26th; none of those killed in this strike could be identified among the MoH list.

*Airwars has quantified the youngest generation of each family as children based on available images due to the lack of ages found for the victims.

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 afternoon.

The victims were named as:

Family members (37)

Omar Sharaf (Abu Ismail) عمر شرف (أبو إسماعيل)
Adult male killed
Umm Ismail Sharaf أم إسماعيل
Adult female killed
Islam Baalousha إسلام بعلوشة
Adult female killed
Malak Sharaf ملك شرف
Child female killed
Malik Sharaf مالك شرف
Child male killed
Yasmine Sharaf ياسمين شرف
Child female killed
Nour Sharaf نور شرف
Child female killed
Ismail Sharaf إسماعيل شرف
Adult male killed
Wife of Ismail Sharaf زوجة إسماعيل شرف
Adult female killed
Omar Sharaf عمر شرف
Child male killed
Abdul Rahim Sharaf عبدالرحمن شرف
Adult male killed
Aliaa Ramzi Al Hinawi علياء رمزي الحناوي
Adult female killed
Son of Abdul Rahim Sharaf ابن عبد الرحمن شرف
Child male killed
Daughter of Abdul Rahim Sharaf ابنة عبد الرحمن شرف
Child female killed
Daughter of Abdul Rahim Sharaf ابنة عبد الرحمن شرف
Child female killed
Daughter of Abdul Rahim Sharaf ابنة عبد الرحمن شرف
Child female killed
Salah Sharaf صلاح شرف
Adult male killed
Hamza Sharaf حمزة شرف
Child male killed
Asma Sharaf أسماء شرف
Adult female killed
Hala Dawoud هلا داود
Child female killed
Sama Dawoud سما داود
Child female killed
Jour Dawoud جوري داود
Child female killed
Lana Dawoud لانا داود
Child female killed
Alaa Sharaf علاء شرف
Adult female killed
Daughter of Alaa Sharaf بناتها
Child female killed
Daughter of Alaa Sharaf بناتها
Child female killed
Abu Osama Sharaf أبو أسامة شرف
Adult male killed
Wife of Abu Osama Sharaf زوجته
Adult female killed
Wissam Sharaf وسام شرف
Adult female killed
Israa Sharaf اسراء شرف
Adult female killed
Doaa Sharaf دعاء شرف
Adult female killed
Obaida Sharaf عبيدة شرف
Child female killed
Dr. Khaled Sharaf خالد شرف
Adult male killed
Wife of Dr. Khaled Sharaf زوجة خالد شرف
Adult female killed
Abdullah Sharaf عبدالله شرف
male killed
Karim Sharaf كريم شرف
male killed
Jodi Sharaf جودي شرف
female killed

Family members (15)

Buthaina Radwan (Al-Mahlawi) بثينة رضوان
Adult female killed
Mahmoud Awni Al-Mahlawi محمود عوني المحلاوي
Adult male killed
Osama Awni Al-Mahlawi أسامة عوني المحلاوي
Adult male killed
Faten Awni Al-Mahlawi فاتن عوني المحلاوي
Adult female killed
Muhammad Awni Al-Mahlawi محمد عوني المحلاوي
Adult male killed
Asmaa Jihad Abu Al-Amrain (Al-Mahlawi) أسماء جهاد أبو العمرين
Adult female killed
Rawad Muhammad Al-Mahlawi رواد محمد المحلاوي
Child male killed
Habiba Muhammad Al-Mahlawi حبيبة محمد المحلاوي
Child female killed
Abd al-Rahman Muhammad al-Mahlawi عبدالرحمن محمد المحلاوي
Child male killed
Mona Aouni Al-Mahlawi بثينة منى عوني المحلاوي
Adult female killed
Walid Abdel Haq Al Mahlawi وليد عبدالحق المحلاوي
Adult female killed
Nagham Walid Al Mahlawi نغم وليد المحلاوي
Child female killed
Nada Walid Al Mahlawi ندى وليد المحلاوي
Child female killed
Hoda Walid Al-Mahlawi هدى وليد المحلاوي
Child female killed
Moaz Walid Al-Mahlawi معاذ وليد المحلاوي
Child male killed

Family members (3)

Mufid Fayez Al-Banna مفيد فايز البنا
Adult male killed
Nourhan Nour Al-Din (Al-Banna) نورهان نور الدين
Adult female killed
Asmaa Al Banna أسماء البنا
female injured

Family members (17)

Nasr Rabah Jarada (Abu Tamer) نصر رباح جرادة
Adult male killed
Naama Abu Al-Ezz (Jarada) نعمة عبدالعزيز
Adult female killed
Nisreen Nasr Jarada سرين نصر جرادة
female killed
Haneen Nasr Jarada حنين نصر جرادة
female killed
Nasr Mahmoud Jarada نصر محمود جرادة
Child male killed
Abdullah Mahmoud Jarada عبدالله محمود جرادة
Child male killed
Harbi Rabah Jarada (Abou Rabah) حربي رباح جرادة
Adult male killed
Fawzia Abu Al-Auf (Jarada) فوزية ابو العوف
Adult female killed
Rabah Harbi Jarada (Abu Omar) رباح حربي جرادة
Adult male killed
Ruba Al-Qaisi (Jarada) ربى قيس
Adult female killed
Harbi Rabah Jarada حربي رباح جرادة
Child male killed
Karim Rabah Jarada كريم رباح جرادة
Child male killed
Muhammad Harbi Jarada (Abu Yusef) محمد حربي جرادة
Adult male killed
Hala Saleh (Jarada) هالة صالح جراده
Adult female killed
Habiba Muhammad Jarada حبيبة محمد جرادة
Child female killed
Tamer Nasr Jarada أم تامر جرادة
female killed
Maymana Muhammad Jarada ميمونة محمد جرادة
Child female killed

Family members (5)

Adnan Muhanna عدان مهنا
Adult male killed
Ibtisam Hosni Muhanna ابتسام حسني مهنا
Adult female killed
Dima Adnan Muhanna ديمة عندان مهنا
Adult female killed
Rawand Al-Banna راواند البنا وجنينها
Adult female killed
Adnan Youssef Adnan Muhanna عدنان يوسف عدنان هنا
Child male killed

Family members (23)

Saeed Al-Ramlawi (Abu Amer) سعيد الرملاوي
Adult male killed
Masara Al-Ramlawi (Umm Amer) مسرة الرملاوي
Adult female killed
Khaled Saed Al-Ramlawi خالد سعيد الرملاوي
Adult male injured
Alina Al-Ramlawi الينا الرملاوي
3 years old female killed
Amer Al-Ramlawi (Abu Al-Saeed) عامر الرملاوي
Adult male killed
Ibrahim Al-Ramlawi ابراهيم الرملاوي
12 years old male killed
Ruba Al-Ramlawi ربى الرملاوي
17 years old female killed
Muhammad Al-Ramlawi (Abu Al-Baraa) محمد الرملاوي
Adult male killed
Heba Al-Ramlawi (Umm Al-Baraa) هبة الرملاوي
Adult female killed
Rami Al-Ramlawi رامي الرملاوي
14 years old male killed
Rana Ramlawi رنا الرملاوي
12 years old female killed
Ritaal Ramlawi
6 years old female killed
Abeer Al-Ramlawi (Umm Yahya) عبير الرملاوي
Adult female killed
Nour Al-Ramlawi نور الرملاوي
19 years old female killed
Malak Al-Ramlawi ملاكل الرملاوي
10 years old male killed
Yasmine Al-Ramlawi (Umm Anas) ياسمين الرملاوي
Adult female killed
Anas Al-Ramlawi أنس الرملاوي
12 years old male killed
Saeed Al-Ramlawi سعيد الرملاوي
5 years old male killed
Judy Ramlawi حازم الرملاوي
7 years old female killed
Etaf Al-Ramlawi عطاف الرملاوي (أم رامي
Adult female killed
Osama Delki أسامة دلكي
male injured
Amer Al Ramlawi عامر الرملاوي
male injured
Hamoud Ahmad Al Ramlawi حمود أحمد الرملاوي
male injured

Family members (8)

Khalil Akram Mahdi خليل اكرم مهدي
Adult male killed
Sali Ibrahim Mahdi (Labed) سالي ابراهيم مهدي
Adult female killed
Nesreen Khalil Mahdi نسرين خليل مهدي
Child female killed
Talin Khalil Mahdi تالين خليل مهدي
Child female killed
Akram Khalil Mahdi أكرم خليل مهدي
Child male killed
Loreen Khalil Mahdi لورين خليل مهدي
0.6 years old female injured
Ahmad Zakariya Mahdi أحمد زكريا مهدي
male killed
Hind Mahdi هند مهدي
female killed

Family members (6)

Mr. Saeed Bakhit “Abu Osama” سعيد بخيت "أبو أسامة"
Adult male killed
Son of Mr. Saeed Bakhit “Abu Osama”
male killed
Son of Mr. Saeed Bakhit “Abu Osama”
male killed
Dr. Muhammad Bakhit *Abu Yasser* محمد حسن بخيت
Adult male killed
Wife of Dr. Muhammad Bakhit *Abu Yasser* زوجة محمد حسن البخيت
Adult female killed
Yasser Bakhit ياسر بخيت
male killed

The victims were named as:

Sakhr Yahya Shabir يحيى صخر شبير
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    101
  • (44 children37 women26 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    100–200
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Known attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (86) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (99) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
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    Source: @ShehabAgency
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Fatma Mohammed
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @alyredaa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @WWIIIAR
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Yasser_Gaza
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    Source: @Yasser_Gaza
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    Source: @ahmadkazz
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @MOHGaza1994
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    Source: @MOHGaza1994
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    Source: @MOHGaza1994
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    Source: @MOHGaza1994
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohammed Fahed
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    Source: Alhayaps
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    Source: Alhayaps
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    Source: Alhayaps
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    Source: Alhayaps
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    Source: Shokry Abboud
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    Source: Shokry Abboud
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    Source: Shokry Abboud
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    Source: Shokry Abboud
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mahmoud Abu Znada media platform
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    Source: Mahmoud Abu Znada media platform
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mahmoud Abu Znada media platform
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Salem Mufreh
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Salem Mufreh
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Salem Mufreh
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Salem Mufreh
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mdsrv
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mdsrv
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    Source: Mdsrv
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    Source: Mdsrv
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    Source: Mdsrv
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    Source: Mdsrv
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    Source: Mdsrv
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    Source: Mdsrv
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    Source: Mdsrv
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohammed AK Mahdi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Nermin Hinawi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Nermin Hinawi
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    Source: Nermin Hinawi
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    Source: Nermin Hinawi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Majid Said
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdulhadi abo Al Omarin
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdulhadi abo Al Omarin
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    Source: Abdulhadi abo Al Omarin
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdulhadi abo Al Omarin
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mahmoud Hamada
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mahmoud Hamada
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hassan Radwan
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hassan Radwan
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hassan Radwan
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Abdallah Amrain
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    Source: Abo Jamal Sharaf
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    Source: Soha Mohamedeen
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mustafa Mahdi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Sereen Daoud
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khaled Al Ramlaw
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khaled Al Ramlaw
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Amen.alshayef
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @_Ysharaf
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    Source: @_Ysharaf
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    Source: @_Ysharaf
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    Source: @_Ysharaf
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    Source: @_Ysharaf
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    Source: @_Ysharaf
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Abdullah_Om3r03
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ignis_fatum
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Osint613
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    Source: @Osint613
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    Source: @Osint613
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @fananalshalabi
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    Source: @fananalshalabi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al Bawaba News
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    Source: Al Bawaba News
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SaadMMustafa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SaadMMustafa
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    Source: @SaadMMustafa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SaadMMustafa
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AnonOzzyDude
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    Source: @AnonOzzyDude
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    Source: @AnonOzzyDude
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    Source: @AnonOzzyDude
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Anadolu Agency News
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Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention Al Taj Tower 3 (بمحيط برج التاج 3) in Gaza city (غزة). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.521604, 34.460559.

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  • Tagged visual material from sources

    Imagery:
    IDF

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Israeli Military

Madhath Mubashar—Commander of Hamas' Western Khan Yunis Battalion—was eliminated by an IDF aerial strike.

Furthermore, the IDF struck 250+ Hamas targets including a terrorist tunnel network in Gaza that detonated the secondary explosions.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    101
  • (44 children37 women26 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    100–200
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Known attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (86) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT0537

Incident date

October 24, 2023

Location

منزل عائلة ابو رتيمة بتل السلطان غرب رفح, Abu Ratima family home in Tal al-Sultan, west of Rafah, Rafah, the Gaza Strip

Airwars assessment

On Tuesday, October 24th 2023, it was reported that three civilians were killed and at least seven were injured, including four children, as a result of an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Abu Ratima family home in Tal al-Sultan, west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Teleet Barhoum had posted on Facebook on the day of the alleged strike explaining that 52-year-old Fawzia Barhoum had died of her injuries.

Maslah Ziyade Abu Khatleh posted that his brother 90-year-old Hamad Ziyad Ismail Abu Khatla was also killed as a result of the alleged strike. A picture the elderly Hamad, dressed smartly in a traditional thawb, was included.

Abu Waleed Abu Ratima posted the day after the alleged strike describing how many of his family members were affected. He reported that Ahmed Abu Artemah, a journalist, had been injured in the alleged strike. Ahmed’s three children, Abdullah, Muhammad and Boutal had also been injured in the incident.

Abu Waleed Abu Ratima also wrote how his sisters Fatima and Banan Selmy were also injured, as well as his daughter Joud. He reported that Banan and Joud remained in intensive care along with Abdullah.

Another victim, a 66-year-old woman named Khairiyah Ahmed Mohammed Al-Akhras was killed in the incident.

Rafah City Official Account put the estimates of injuries at dozens, however, no other sources corroborated this claim.

Palestine News posted an image, taken by Doaa Khaled, of a young woman in distress, with a young girl crying and holding on to her, as they walk away from the site of the alleged airstrike.

Doaa Khaled herself added photos of the destruction caused by the alleged airstrike, with the images showing a large crater in the ground, a pool of blood and a building with the walls missing from two floors. Pictures also showed people helping two men walk away from the destruction, they were covered in dust but appeared uninjured.

One source, Husseyn Abu Tareq, reported in a post on Facebook that the family of Abu Khatla in Jordan, Rafah and the diaspora mourned the death of their relative Hamad Ziyad Ismail Abu Khatla and multiple sources, referring to him as “uncle”, posted prayers for him.

A relative of the victims, Abu Waleed Abu Ratimah, in a post on Facebook, mourned the death of Fawzia and asked people to pray for the recovery of Betoul, Abdullah and Joud, who remained in intensive care.

Reports explained how the house was situated behind the Al-Qadisiyah School and multiple sources reported that the house belonged to Khairy Abu Ratima.

The pictures showed that the reported strike occurred during the day.

The identities of Khairiyah Ahmed Mohammed Al-Akhras and Hamad Ziyad Ismail Abu Khatla have been reconciled with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities published on October 26, 2023.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes 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 local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (8)

Fawzia Barhoum فوزيه برهوم
Adult female Possible match with MoH ID 930682745 killed
Amhed Abu Artemah أحمد ابو ارتيمه
Adult male injured
Abdullah عبدالله
Child male injured
Muhammad محمد
Child male injured
Batoul بتول
Child female injured
Fatima فاطمة
Age unknown female injured
Banan Selmy بنان سلمي
Age unknown female injured
Joud جود
Child female injured

The victims were named as:

Hamad Ziyad Ismail Abu Khatla حمد زياد إسماعيل أبو ختله
90 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 975562018
Khairiyah Ahmed Mohammed Al-Akhras خيريه أحمد محمد الاخرس
66 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 907792238

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (2 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7–24
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Unknown
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (18) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Maslah Ziyade Abu Khatleh
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestine News
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Doaa Khaled
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Doaa Khaled
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Doaa Khaled
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Doaa Khaled
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Doaa Khaled
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (2 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7–24
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Unknown
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (18) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT0454

Incident date

October 22, 2023

Location

دير البلح, Deir al Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.418995, 34.349442 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

During the night or early morning of Tuesday, October 22nd 2023, an alleged Israeli airstrike hit the al-Naouq family home located in the center of the town of Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip,  killing 21 identified members of the al-Naouq family, including 14 children and three women, and up to 30 civilians, and wounding at least two civilians. According to the post by Ahmed al-Naouq, American fighter aircraft F16 was used to conduct this strike.

Ahmed al-Naouq, a media officer at the Palestinian Mission in the UK and a graduate student in London, lost around 30 family members in this incident according to his Twitter/X post that gained more than 6 million views. Airwars identified 21 members of his family killed based on Ahmed’s social media posts, including his 14 nephews and nieces. Condolence messages were offered to Ahmed on social media by his colleagues from the Mission, including the Ambassador Husam Zomlot, Rana Abu Ayyash, and Rami Abdu.

In his interview to Associated Press, Ahmed recalled that that night when a blast struck his family’s home while he was in London, more than 2,000 miles away. He told AP that he left a question in his family’s WhatsApp group, “Tell me, how are you guys?”. He then heard from a friend:  “Airstrike. Everyone killed.”

Ahmed told AP in a moving testimony: “I can’t believe this actually happened. Because if I calculate what it means, I will be destroyed.”

On November 15th 2023, Ahmed al-Naouq went to the British Parliament to talk to MPs about the incident in which Israel had killed his family. He asked them to vote for a ceasefire “to end the suffering of his people.”

In comments to AP, Ahmed asked: “Why would they kill children and an old man? What is the military justification for bombing my house? They were all civilians. I wish, one day, I can meet the one who pulled the trigger. I want to ask him: Why did you do it?”

Ahmed al-Naouq also recorded a voice tribute to his 14 nieces and nephews shared on BBC sounds under the title, “All I have now are memories”.

Among the victims of the strike was Ahmed’s 75-year old father, Nasri Salem al-Naouq, his two brothers and three sisters with their fourteen children.

Ahmed’s 36-year-old sister Walaa Nasri Salem al-Naouq was killed alongside her four children –  two sons Raghad Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza (13) and Abdullah Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza (6) and two daughters Islam Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza (12) and Sarah Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza (9).  The Associated Press report described the late Walaa Nasri Salem al-Naouq as “the most accomplished of the al-Naouq children with a degree in engineering.” Ahmed shared his picture with Abdullah and Sarah, adding that “this is Abdullah, when he was a bit younger. To the right is his sister Sarah. She was also killed. Sarah was born during the 2014 war. She endured the blockade and a number of wars since her birth.”

His 35-year-old sister Alaa Nasri Salem al-Naouq (Salman) was killed along with her five children  – daughters Dima Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman (12), Tala Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman (8), Nesma Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman (2), Islam Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman  (13), and a son, Nour El-Din Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman (4). A Facebook user Waseem Salman Abu Ahmed wrote in his tribute that the deceased Alaa was his uncle’s wife and shared numerous images of her smiling small children.

Ahmed’s 33-year old sister Aya Nasri Salem al-Naouq lost her life together with the lives of her three children, sons Mohammed Bashir (12), and Tamin Bashir (6), and daughter Malak Bashir (aged 11 or 12). Malak initially survived the incident and was taken to al-Aqsa hospital with severe burns, but died “after doctors gave her ICU bed to another patient with a better chance of survival.” From a Twitter/X post from Ahmed al-Naouq on October 29th, it appears Malak died nearly a week after the initial strike.

Aya was known for her “wry sense of humour.” According to the AP article, Aya’s home had been previously destroyed and she was staying with the others elsewhere in the central city of Deir al-Balah, south of the area Israel had ordered Palestinians to leave.

Ahmed’s 35-year old brother Muhammad Nasri Salem al-Naouq was killed alongside his son Bakr Muhammad Nasri al-Naouq (11) and a daughter Basemah Muhammad Nasri al-Naouq (9). Ahmed shared an image of the dead body of Bakr, writing that “This is my brother’s firstborn. He was 11 years old.”

Ahmed’s 25-year old brother Mahmoud Nasri Salem al-Naouq was also killed in this incident. Mahmoud al-Naouq worked at a human rights organisation and was preparing to travel to Australia for graduate studies when the war broke out. He was described by his former classmate, a Twitter/X user @Salahdeen Aziz Mattar, as “one of the best young men”. Similarly, Twitter/X user @Anas Mohammed Jnena described Mahmoud as “the loveliest spirit and the most kind and calm person one could ever meet.” In his Facebook post, he further reminisced how Mahmoud had told him how excited he was to pursue his master’s abroad and then get back home and get married. His brother Ahmed shared his image of a smiling young man in glasses.

Among the victims was also Ahmed’s cousin, a 34-year old Ali Hisham Said Al-Quraynaawi, a PhD holder and a lecturer at a university in Gaza. Ahmed wrote in his Twitter/X account that he was killed in Ahmed’s family home and attached an image of a tall young man in a suit.

Initially believed to have been a casualty, Aya’s son, Omar Bashir (3), was later discovered to be alive but injured. Described as “the little angel,” Omar was the sole child who survived the bombing. Ahmed wrote that “Omar is still living under bombardment. Omar is not safe.”

A relative and neighbour of the affected family Ali Al-Naouq detailed his injuries, stating he “suffered a fracture in his left hand along with other injuries” when the al-Naouq house next to his own was bombed, resulting in significant damage to his residence. Additionally, an Associated Press report identified Ahmed al-Naouq’s sister-in-law, Shimaa, as a survivor of the incident, but it is not clear whether she was injured or not.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.

Where possible, Airwars has matched names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.

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 during the night.

The victims were named as:

Family members (23)

Nasri Salem al-Naouq نصري سالم الناعوق
75 years old male Matched to MoH ID 930025440
Muhammad Nasri Salem al-Naouq محمد نصري سالم الناعوق
35 years old male Matched to MoH ID 802083717
Bakr Muhammad Nasri al-Naouq بكر محمد نصري سالم الناعوق
11 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 433485737
Basemah Muhammad Nasri al-Naouq باسمة محمد نصري سالم الناعوق
9 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 432938900
Walaa Nasri Salem al-Naouq ولاء نصري سالم الناعوق
36 years old female Matched to MoH ID 800734501
Raghad Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza رغد محمد جمال العزيزة
13 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 429971369
Islam Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza اسلام محمد جمال العزيزة
Child female killed
Sarah Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza سارةمحمد جمال العزيزة
9 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 434453999
Abdullah Muhammad Jamal al-Azayza عبدالله محمد جمال العزيزة
6 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 438220550
Alaa Nasri Salem al-Naouq (Salman) الاء نصري سالم الناعوق
35 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 802083709
Dima Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman ديما محمود عبد الكريم سلمان
12 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 430214155
Tala Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman تالا محمود عبد الكريم سلمان
8 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 435191010
Nour El-Din Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman نور الدين محمود عبد الكريم سلمان
4 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 441230919
Nesma Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman نسمة محمود عبد الكريم سلمان
2 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 445210016
Islam Mahmoud Abdel Karim Salman إسلام محمود عبد الكريم سلمان
13 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 429971484
Mahmoud Nasri Salem al-Naouq محمود نصري سالم الناعوق
25 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 403609928
Aya Nasri Salem al-Naouq اية نصري سالم الناعوق
34 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 802498782
Omar Bashir عمر
3 years old male injured
Mohammed Yussuf Mohammed Bashir
12 years old male killed
Tamin Yussuf Mohammed Bashir تميم يوسف محمد بشير
6 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 438476491
Malak ملك
11 years old female killed
Ali Hisham al-Qarinawi علي هشام القريناوي
34 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 803128255
Ali al-Naouq
Adult male injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    21 – 30
  • (14 children3 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (35) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (19) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Waseem Salman Abu Ahmed
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Salahdeen Aziz Mattar
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Anas Muhammad Janna
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: AP News
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: AP News
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @bbcworldservice
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AlnaouqA

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Deir al Balah (دير البلح), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.418995, 34.349442. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    21 – 30
  • (14 children3 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (35) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT0419

Incident date

October 21, 2023

Location

خربة العدس , Khirbat Al Adas, Rafah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.286310, 34.271887 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between six and ten civilians were reported killed, including at least one member of the Palestinian Civil Defense and five children, when alleged Israeli missiles struck a Palestinian Civil Defense facility alongside the Dahir family home on October 21st, 2023. A number of other civilians, including Palestinian Civil Defense members, were also injured.

The incident took place near the Khirbet Al-Adas junction, east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning.

Muhammad Fawzi Qtait also known as Abu Jazar (father of Jazar) was named as the Palestinian Civil Defense paramedic and firefighter killed in the strike. He was reported to be from Ma’an, Khan Yunis.

In a post from the Dhuhair family, it was reported that eight members of the family were killed including five children. The names were identified as: Ayman Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir, Iman Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir, Andalus Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir, Aws Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir and another child Elias Anas Muhammad Hamad Dhahir.

Family members named as mourning the victims – though not present during the strike – included grandmother Nabila, Elias’ parents, Anas Dhahir and Hanin Saleh Zorob, and Ayman, Iman, Andalus and Aws’ father Islam Muhammad Hamad Duhair. Aws’ kindergarten, Baraem Al Tofoula Model Kindergarten, made a post announcing his death and expressing their deep sorrow.

The Ministry of the Interior and the Directorate of the Civil Defense in Gaza reported the death of Muhammad Qtait and the injury of at least four other Civil Defense members, while source Adnan Ghanima reported in a tweet that six members were seriously injured. According to Masdar Al Akhbariya, 11 Civil Defense workers were injured and three were in serious condition. A post from the Rafah Municipality reported several deaths and injuries among Civil Defense members and civilians. The casualty range for those injured is therefore put at 4-11.

Where possible, Airwars has matched names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli airplanes.

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:

Family members (5)

Ayman Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir أيمن إسلام محمد حمد ضهير
13 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 429423221
Iman Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir إيمان إسلام محمد حمد ضهير
12 years old female killed Matched to MoH ID 430509919
Andalus Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir أندلس إسلام محمد حمد ضهير
10 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 434448718
Aws Islam Muhammad Hamad Dhahir أوس إسلام محمد حمد ضهير
5 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 440694404
Elias Anas Muhammad Hamad Dhahir إلياس أنس محمد حمد ضهير
5 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 440596930

The victims were named as:

Muhammad Fawzi Qtait محمد فوزي قطيط
39 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 800322224

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 10
  • (5–8 children1 woman2 men1 healthcare_personnel)
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–11
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Healthcare
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (21) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (20) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: The journalist Adel Al Zaab
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Tabarbour
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Rafah Municipality
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Rafah Municipality
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Rafah Municipality
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Rafah Municipality
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Rafah Municipality
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Adnan Ghanima
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Adnan Ghanima
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahali Maan
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahali Maan
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahali Maan
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahali Maan
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahali Maan
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahali Maan
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Omar Mahmoud Brhoum Zaraab
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Baraem Al Tofoula Model Kindergarten
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SerajSat
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the area of Khirbat Al Adas ( خربة العدس ), within the Gaza strip (قِطَاعُ غَزَّةَ), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.2863108, 34.271887. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.  

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Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 10
  • (5–8 children1 woman2 men1 healthcare_personnel)
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–11
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Impact
    Healthcare
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (21) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT0422d

Incident date

October 21, 2023

Location

الجنينة, Al Geneina, Rafah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.296461, 34.243759 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A father and his four sons were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on their home in the al-Geneina neighbourhood in Rafah at dawn on 21 October 2023: father 60-year-old Samir al-Kurd, and his sons 40-year old Tamer Samir al-Kurd, 33-year-old Sami Samir al-Kurd, 32-year-old Hisham Samir Rajab al-Kurd, and a fourth son whose name has not been identified. News platform Alwatan Voice reported that the victims “were found under the rubble” following the strike.

Friends and family took to social media to mourn the victims, including Yahya Muhammad al-Balbis, Ahmed al-Karnaz Abu Karam, Ahmed Jaafar al-Kurd, as well as Abu Khaled al-Ashqar, who remembered his “esteemed friend, brother, and colleague, Tamer al-Kurd,” and spoke of their “years at the same table in school and years of friendship and brotherhood… Oh heartache.” Abdul Rahman Adnan al-Hams shared a photo with Hisham and indicated he was survived by his wife, referring to her as “Lulu,” writing: “The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened by your departure. My brother-in-law, the martyr: Hisham Samir al-Kurd (Abu Malik) (…) We ask God to strengthen your heart, my beloved sister Lulu and to give us patience over the loss of our dearly beloved Abu Malik.”

Photos shared by news platform Palestine Post showed the extent of destruction by the airstrike, with the family home reduced to rubble. No public sources claimed that any of the men were not civilians.

Airwars has matched all of the names with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes 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 around dawn.

The victims were named as:

Family members (5)

Samir Rajab Aal-Kurd سمير الكرد
60 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 924421134
Tamer Samir al-Kurd تامر سمير الكرد
40 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 926735424
Sami Samir Rajab al-Kurd سامي سمير الكرد
33 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 802718585
Hisham Samir Rajab al-Kurd هشام سمير الكرد
32 years old male killed Matched to MoH ID 803309327
Son of Samir (Unnamed) ابن سمير
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (5 men)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (12) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (13) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestine
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestine
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestine
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: a. Ahmed Al-Karnaz Abu Karam
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abdul Rahman Adnan Al-Hams
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Khaled Al-Ashqar
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu Khaled Al-Ashqar
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Yahya Muhammad Al-Balbisi
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @16_gouda
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @16_gouda
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @16_gouda
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @16_gouda
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahmed Jaafar Al-Kurd

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of al Geneina (الجنينة), to the east of  Rafah (رفح). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for al Geneina are: 31.296461, 34.243759 .

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Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (5 men)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Israeli Military

Sources (12) [ collapse]