Israeli Military in Syria & the Gaza Strip

Israeli Military in Syria & the Gaza Strip

A child uses his mobile device in the ruins of a building in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip on May 26th 2021. © Mohamed Zaanoun

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Incident Code

RS3313

Incident date

March 20, 2018

Location

عربين, Arbeen, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.538143, 36.364331 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between three and 14 civilians including two children were reportedly killed and dozens more were injured in an alleged Russian and/or Syrian regime forces airstrike on a residential area in Arbeen on March 20th 2018, according to local media resources.

According to the Smart News Agency, “The Great Mosque in the city of Arbeen, east of the capital Damascus, and one of the ancient mosques in Eastern Ghouta, was destroyed after an air strike directly targeted it on March 20, 2018. Three civilians were killed in the aerial bombardment”.

Also a member of the Syria Civil Defense was reportedly injured by a shrapnel in his left hand while he was on duty.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and the Local Coordination Committees of Syria (who put the death toll at seven and then raised it to 14) blamed both the Russian and Syrian forces for the airstrike and the victims, while Smart News Agency and ShahbaPress blamed the Russian forces only for the attack.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Mohammad Al Yasky محمد اليسقي
Child male killed
Mahmouad Al Yasky محمود اليسقي
Child male killed

The victims were named as:

Samer Khabieh سامر خبية
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 14
  • (2 children1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (16) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Injured civilians in the aftermath of airstrikes, 20th March 2018. (via Damascus countryside White Helmets)
  • Injured member of Syrian Civil Defense while on duty in the aftermath of airstrikes, 20th March 2018. (via Damascus countryside White Helmets)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 14
  • (2 children1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (16) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS3349

Incident date

March 27, 2018

Location

حاس, Has, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.616349, 36.593399 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Several civilians were reported injured and/or killed in alleged Russian forces or Syrian regime forces airstrikes on Hass in Idlib, Syria on March 27th, 2018 according to local sources. The sources reported that the area was targeted at least with two raids while others reported that four raids were launched.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “raids targeting areas in the town of Hass, caused material damage with news about injuries due to the bombing.”

@omargen919 and @wateen_media mentioned that Hass hospital was put out of services after it was targeted with those raids.

Edlib Media Center, @HalabTodayTV, @omargen919, @wateen_media, @RFS_mediaoffice @GenevaUpdates, @mohanadalshekh ,and @blaas083 blamed Russia for the raids, while @IdlibPlus and @abo22yazed blamed the Syrian regime.

The incident occured in the afternoon.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS3369

Incident date

March 31, 2018

Location

الزكاة, Al Zakat, Hama, Syria

Geolocation

35.3406492, 36.5770697 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

According to a single source, the Shaam News network, “Russian warplanes carried out heavy air raids accompanied by heavy shelling and shelling on the towns and villages” including Al Zakat. The strikes reportedly led to an unspecified number of injuries among civilians.

Idlib Plus tweeted: “Russian warplanes targeted the village of Zakat in Hama countryside, with four air strikes.” The source did not mention civilian harm.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • "Russian warplanes targeted the village of Zakat in Hama countryside, with four air strikes."

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS3408

Incident date

April 18, 2018

Location

قرية المستريحة, Al Mistriha village, Hama, Syria

Geolocation

36.352575, 37.89279 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Airstrikes on the village of Al Mistriha resulted in wounded civilians, according to local news sources.

The attack was attributed to Russian forces by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, however Smart News reported use of machine guns by Syrian planes.

According to Step, “seven people were injured as a result of the air and ground bombardment of the villages of Al-Musthira and Khalidiya, northwest of Hama”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–7
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–7
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS3548

Incident date

September 8, 2018

Location

السرج, Al Sarj, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

A pregnant woman was killed with her baby, and others including a woman injured in alleged Russian forces or Syrian regime forces airstrike or artillery attack with rockets on Al Sarj village in Idlib on September 8th, 2018, according to local sources. The victim was identified as Ola Riyad Al-Daher. 

Bawabat Hama posted “Mrs. Ola Riyad Al-Daher, an IDP from the northern village of Al-Fann in the eastern Hama countryside, was killed with her fetus as a result of the shelling that targeted the Sarj village in the Idlib countryside.”

Also SMART News said that “A pregnant woman was also killed and another wounded by shelling Al Saraj village east of Idlib from its positions in Um Rajim village, according to activists.”

Most sources blamed the Syrian regime for this incident, but Shaam Network said that “The Russian warplanes and the Syrian Air Force continued bombardments in a new campaign of escalation, recording dozens of air strikes accompanied by heavy artillery and rocket fire. The indiscriminate shelling led to a martyr in the village of Al-Halba and to killing a  woman and  her embryo in the village of Al-Sarj.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Ola Riyad Al-Daher علا رياض الضاهر
Adult female pregnant The baby also died killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (21) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (21) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS3857

Incident date

June 29, 2019

Location

حيان, Hayyan, Aleppo , Syria

Airwars assessment

One child was reported injured in the explosion of a remnant of a cluster munition in Hayyan, Aleppo, on June 29th.

Step News agency alleged that “a child was seriously injured by a cluster bomb left behind by a former Russian military attack on the town of Hayyan, north of Aleppo.”

Shaam News claimed that he was hospitalised as a result of the explosion.

All sources stated that the cluster munition was a remnant from a previous attack by Russian forces. It is unknown when the munition was dropped.

Step News, JisrTV and other sources reported Syrian regime artillery shelling on Hayyan on the same day, resulting in civilian harm in a likely unrelated incident.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military
  • Suspected target
    Other

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian 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
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Planted explosives and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military
  • Suspected target
    Other

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS1567

Incident date

October 2, 2017

Location

‏العشارة‬, near Al Asharah, Syria, Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Geolocation

34.8895, 40.56055 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Within 100m (via Coalition) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In an incident not previously tracked by Airwars, the Coalition later confirmed the injury of a civilian in an event near Al Asharah, Syria.

Their December 2017 civilian casualty report noted: “During a Coalition strike which destroyed ISIS vehicle and equipment it was assessed that one civilian was unintentionally injured.”

In July 2019, the Coalition provided Airwars with the location of this incident, accurate to within a 100 metre box.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Prior to the Coalition releasing the MGRS for this incident, Airwars had geolocated it to the nearest town at 34.919682, 40.560622

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    No reason given
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    1
  • Stated location
    near Al Asharah, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFU426619
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Dec 28, 2017

  • Oct. 2, 2017 near Al Asharah, Syria via self-report. During a Coalition strike which destroyed ISIS vehicle and equipment it was assessed that one civilian was unintentionally injured.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For October 1st – 2nd the Coalition reported “Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed two ISIS well heads and a fighting position.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS3168

Incident date

March 4, 2018

Location

الأربعين, Al Arbaeen, Hama, Syria

Geolocation

35.150833, 36.765278 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

An unspecified number of civilians were reported to be wounded following alleged Russia air or artillery strikes on Al Arbaeen.

Shaam was the only source to report on wounded civilians, while the rest simply stated there was bombing in the vicinity.

Sources do however mention that there was heavy shelling, artillery fire and phosphorous bombs all fired onto the vicinity.

There are no more details at this time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (7) [ collapse]