Geolocation
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)
Summary
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)
-
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.
Palestinian Militants Assessment:
Original strike reports
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.