Israel and Gaza 2023

Satellite imagery, screenshot from Google Earth, October 2023

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

Incident Code

PALIS032

Incident date

May 20–21, 2021

Location

بيري, Beeri, Israel

Geolocation

31.423889, 34.489722 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A man was injured in a reported Palestinian rocket attack on the Kibbutz of Be’eri in southern Israel, on May 20th 2021, according to local reports.

The Magon David Adom ambulance service said its staff provided medical care to a 53-year-old man who was transported to hospital in a light condition. Walla News reported the man was injured by shrapnel and gave his age at 59. The rocket struck a printing house in the Eshkol Regional Council, according to Ynet.

The incident occurred in the hours before the start of a ceasefire which came into effect at 02:00, according to Walla News. IDF Spokesman Hedi Zilberman told the source: “In the hours leading up to the ceasefire, we boarded dozens of aircraft into the Gaza Strip at midnight, mainly UAVs and fighter jets, ready to attack dozens of targets.” Mr Zilberman told the source: “We sent a message to Hamas that if there is a significant barrage of fire, we will act. In practice, about 40 rockets were fired. Midnight to 02:00.” According to the spokesperson, 90% of the missiles were aimed at open spaces.

In a post on Facebook, Mohamad Abo Halawah, said the Al-Quds Brigades had released a statement declaring they had targeted the area with several rockets in response to recent enemy attacks. However, we were unable to locate that statement.

The incident occured at approximately 12:00 am local time.

The victims were named as:

Name unknown
53 years old male injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • 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
    Palestinian Militants

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Beeri (בארי), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.423889, 34.489722. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Palestinian Militants Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Palestinian Militants
  • Palestinian Militants position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • 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
    Palestinian Militants

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Incident Code

PALIS015

Incident date

May 12, 2021

Location

سديروت, Sderot, Israel

Geolocation

31.531449, 34.585562 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One child was killed and three to seven family members, including a woman and two children, were reported injured when a rocket declared by Hamas’s militant wing allegedly hit a residential street in Sderot, southern Israel on May 12th, 2021, according to local reports.

Ido Avigal, 5, was killed whilst he and his family were taking shelter in a safe room, said Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The New York Times reported that a missile hit a building close to his aunt’s home causing a piece of shrapnel to penetrate the room’s thick glass window striking Ido in the stomach.

Paramedics, Aviv Shenor and Yossi Halabi, told Ynet: “When we arrived at the scene, we saw an attack on the fifth floor of a six-story building. No injuries were identified in the building, but in a nearby building on the fourth floor we noticed shrapnel penetrating the window of the house and when we went up to the apartment we saw an unconscious child with shrapnel wounds. We gave him life-saving medical treatment and performed CPR on him, and after urgent treatment, we quickly evacuated him to the hospital while CPR continued.”

The Magen David Adom (MDA) medical service said its staff provided medical care and evacuated seven injured people to Barzilai Hospital. The Jerusalem Post reported that among the injured were Shani Avigal, Ido mother, his six year old sister and five members of the extended family including his six-year-old cousin. Shani Avigal was injured by shrapnel to her upper body and a child was said to be in a stable condition having been treated for shrapnel wounds, according to the MDA.

@PalinfoAr originally reported that only three civilians were injured in the strikes.

On May 26th Shani Avigal told The New York Times Ido had suffered with anxiety since the start of the conflict and did not want to sleep, shower or eat alone, she described her son as caring and loving.

On the May 12th El Watan published an announcement by the group Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades: “In continuation of the response to the assassination of leaders and the targeting of civilian facilities, the Qassam Brigades bombard the Zionist Sderot with 20 missiles.”

Reports of the attack began circulating at approximately 19:45, although the Al-Qassam Brigades released a statement at 18:36 which stated, “in continuation of the response to the assassination of leaders and targeting of civilian facilities, Al-Qassam Brigades bombed the usurped Zionist Sderot with 20 rockets.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (4)

Ido Avigal
5 years old male killed
Shani Avigal
Adult female injured
Sister of Ido
6 years old female injured
Cousin of Ido
6 years old injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–7
  • 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.
  • Known attacker
    Palestinian Militants

Sources (42) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (13) [ collapse]

  • Damage to a building and fire caused by strikes on Sderot on May 12, 2021. (Image posted by @PalinfoAr)
  • Shrapnel from a missile strike on Sderot penetrated the window of the shelter that Ido was hiding in and killed him on may 12th, 2021. (Image posted by Times of Israel)
  • Damage to a building and fire caused by strikes on Sderot on May 12, 2021. (Image posted by Times of Israel)
  • Ido Avigal, 5, was killed whilst he and his family were taking shelter in a safe room following strikes on Sderot on May 12, 2021. (Image posted by Times of Israel)
  • Damage to a building and fire caused by strikes on Sderot on May 12, 2021. (Image posted by @qudsn)
  • Injuries caused by a rocket fired from Gaza at a house in Sderot Several people, including a child, were injured after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a building in Sderot on Wednesday. Ambulances and officers were on site to provide care for the wounded
  • Rescue workers treat the wounded following strikes on Sderot on May 12, 2021. (Image posted by Alkoufiya News)
  • Students of a school in southern Israel gathered at the home of 6-year-old Ido Avigal, who was killed by a terrorist rocket fired by Hamas last week, and sang the Israeli national anthem “Hatikva” (Hope). (Image posted by Standwithusarabic via Facebook)
  • Statement from @UnitedHatzalah, posted by @samuelsokol
  • Shrapnel from a missile strike on Sderot penetrated the window of the shelter that Ido was hiding in and killed him on may 12th, 2021. (Image posted by Ynet)

Geolocation notes (3) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a residential building being struck in Sderot (שדרות ). Analyzing audio-visual material from sources we have narrowed down this location to these exact coordinates: 31.531449, 34.585562.

  • Reports of the incident mention a residential building being struck in Sderot (שדרות )

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

  • Tagged street view image from 2012 shows the area undeveloped.

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

  • Tagged audio-material from sources.

Palestinian Militants Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    Palestinian Militants
  • Palestinian Militants position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Palestinian Militants

18:32
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
One dead, a number of wounded, and heavy material losses were caused by the rockets fired by the Al-Qassam Brigades on Sderot and Ashkelon.


18:36
In continuation of the response to the assassination of leaders and targeting of civilian facilities, Al-Qassam Brigades bombed the usurped Zionist Sderot with 20 rockets.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–7
  • 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.
  • Known attacker
    Palestinian Militants

Sources (42) [ collapse]

Incident Code

PALIS023

Incident date

May 14, 2021

Location

بئر السبع, Beersheba, Israel

Geolocation

31.258889, 34.799722 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A missile fired by alleged Palestinian militants directly hit a house in the Israeli city of Beersheba according to several sources.

Those physically injured included a 78 year old female victim with limb and head injuries, a 50 year old male victim with an injury to his limbs, a 54 year old woman with a facial injury and another female victim in her 70s.

Multiple sources also reported that 19 civilians were taken to Soroka Hospital after the attack due to indirect harm: 16 sustained light injuries whilst running to bomb shelters and three were being treated for shock.

Multiple sources claimed the incident occurred in the evening.

The incident occured in the evening.

The victims were named as:

Name unknown
78 years old female injured
Name unknown
54 years old female injured
Name unknown
50 years old male injured
Name unknown
70-79 years old female injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Accidents related to conflict
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Palestinian Militants

Sources (14) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • 'The apartment that was damaged this morning in Be'er Sheva. Photo: Husias Montenegro'
  • Damage to a building in Beersheeba that was hit by a missile reportedly fired by Palestinian Militants (image via Beersheva Mynet)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention a house being struck in the city of Beersheba (באר שבע) for which the generic coordinates are: 31.258889, 34.799722. Due to limited information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Palestinian Militants Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Palestinian Militants
  • Palestinian Militants position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Palestinian Militants

14 May, 2021
21:05
Al-Qassam Brigades bombard occupied Beersheba with a missile launch

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Accidents related to conflict
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Palestinian Militants

Sources (14) [ collapse]