Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT1410

Incident date

December 2, 2023

Location

منزلا لعائلة مشتهى في حي الشجاعية شرقي مدينة غزة, A home for the Mushtaha family in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, Gaza City, the Gaza Strip

Airwars assessment

On the afternoon of December 02, 2023, a home for the Mushtaha family on Nazir Street in the Shujaiya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City was bombed in an alleged Israeli airstrike, killing at least 20 civilians, many of them members of the Mushtaha family.

According to @SafaPs, 11 people were killed in the bombing of the Mushtaha family home. Airwars’ researchers identified 20 civilians killed in this incident. Among the deceased were Amjad Kamal Noman Salman Mushtaha (Abu Haitham); his two sons, Haitham Amjad Mushtaha and Kamal Amjad Mushtaha; his brother, Nashat Kamal Noman Salman Mushtaha (Abu Tariq); and his nephews Jaafar Magdy Kamal Noman Salman Mushtaha and Hamza Magdy Kamal Noman Salman Mushtaha.

Ayman Harbi Rushdi Saeed Amin Mushtaha; his mother, Umm Ayman; his wife, Alaa Nafez Hussein Amin Mushtaha (Al-Mukhtar Saber); and their children were killed in the incident along with Maha Khalaf (Umm Anas, wife of the martyr Muhammad Harbi Rushdi Saeed Amin Mushtaha) and Maha’s children. Mona Harbi Rushidi Saeed Amin Mushtaha (Umm Youssef, daughter of the martyr Mahmoud Harbi Rushdi Saeed Amin Mushtaha); and Mona’s son Youssef were also named as having been killed. A family relative named Fadi Mushtaha also named their cousin Hasib Muhammad Al-Hato Abu Yazan, their cousin’s son Moatasem Mamdouh Jamal Noman Salman Mushtaha, their “beloved” Mahmoud Al-Morashah, and their neighbour Moataz Aliwa Abu Omar as among those killed. Sharing his heartache, Fadi asked that God may accept them all.

In @Abu mohannad moshtaha’s post, which identified several of the victims, he stated how “God knows that I am in pain over the separation from you, my brothers, my lifelong friends, and the loved ones of my heart, my nephews, but we cannot be patient that you are martyrs in the heavens of bliss. I do not say goodbye, but we will meet you in heaven, God willing. Oh God, they are your guests, so honour them with gardens as wide as the heavens and the earth.”

Weeks after the incident @Gaza Martyrs wrote about Moatasem Mamdouh Jamal Noman Salman Mushtaha, a 25-year-old “creative individual in the field of design with several accomplishments. He was known for his ever-present smile, his kindness, and his interactions with people. [Moatasem] was martyred 10 days after the martyrdom of his close friend, martyr Hussam Abu Samra.” The post lamented how “another smile” has been lost in Gaza.

The majority of sources only reported on “a large number” of people killed without details while the Palestinian Civil Defense “transported a number of casualties” after the strike on the Mushtaha home. An image posted by @boodi4 shows a infant who was reportedly killed in the strike.

The Palestinian Civil Defense posted images of civil defence crews searching through the rubble of the home and trying to put out the fire caused by the strike.

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 in the afternoon.

The victims were named as:

Family members (20)

Amjad Kamal Noman Salman Mushtaha امجد كمال نعمان سلمان مشتهى
Adult male killed
Haitham Amjad Mushtaha هيثم امجد مشتهى
male killed
Kamal Amjad Mushtaha كمال امجد مشتهى
male killed
Nashat Kamal Noman Salman Mushtaha نشأت كمال نعمان سلمان مشتهى
male killed
Jaafar Magdy Kamal Noman Salman Mushtaha جعفر مجدي كمال نعمان سلمان مشتهى
male
Hamza Magdy Kamal Noman Salman Mushtaha حمزه مجدي كمال نعمان سلمان مشتهى
male killed
Moatasem Mamdouh Jamal Noman Salman Mushtaha معتصم ممدوح جمال نعمان سلمان مشتهى
25 years old male killed
Ayman Harbi Rushdi Saeed Amin Mushtaha ايمن حربي رشدي سعيد امين مشتهى
Adult male killed
Mother of Ayman والدة ايمن
Adult female killed
Alaa Nafez Hussein Amin Mushtaha الاء نافز حسين امين مشتهى
Adult female killed
Children of Ayman and Alaa ابناء ايمن والاء
Child killed
Children of Ayman and Alaa ابناء ايمن والاء
Child killed
Maha Khalaf مها خلف
Adult female killed
Children of Maha ابناء مها
Child killed
Children of Maha ابناء مها
Child killed
Mona Harbi Rushdi Saeed Amin Mushtaha منى حربي رشدي سعيد امين مشتهى
Adult female killed
Youssef, son of Mona يوسف
male killed
Hasib Al-Hato Abu Yazan حسيب الحتو ابو يزن
Mahmoud Al-morashah محمود المرشح
Moataz Aliwa Abu Omar معتز عليوة ابو عمر

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    20
  • (5–9 children4 women4–8 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 (30) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (20) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Civil Defense

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Civil Defense

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Civil Defense

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Civil Defense

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Civil Defense

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Civil Defense

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Civil Defense

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Palestinian Civil Defense

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Abu mohannad moshtaha

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    Source: Abu mohannad moshtaha

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khaled Mushtaha

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khaled Mushtaha

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khaled Mushtaha

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khaled Mushtaha

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khaled Mushtaha

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khaled Mushtaha

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Khaled Mushtaha

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @GazaMartyrs

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    Source: @GazaMartyrs

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @boodi4

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
    20
  • (5–9 children4 women4–8 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 (30) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT1371

Incident date

December 1, 2023

Location

محيط مستشفى ناصر, Vicinity of Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.346941, 34.293052 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least one person was killed and a number of people were injured on Friday, December 1, 2023, when the Qanan family home near Nasser Hospital, west of Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, was reportedly bombed by an Israeli military aircraft.

The man identified by sources as killed was Arafat Mustafa Qanan, also known as Al-Sakhr or Abu Sakhr.

@CensoredNws and @AlAYASHxs reported that a number of people were killed and injured in the incident but did not give exact figures.

Multiple family members made heartfelt tributes to Arafat, including his brother, Tareq, and sister, Asmaa. Iyad Hamdi described Arafat in a post on Facebook as ‘good’ and ‘pure’ and others described their intense grief at his loss. @Abood_Shantii described him as a ‘beloved friend and neighbour’.

Videos and images posted on Facebook show civil defence crews and others searching through the dusty rubble of the Qanan family home and carrying out at least one victim. The house appeared completely destroyed with only pillars and a broken, sagging ceiling remaining. Images taken by Amr Tabsh and posted by multiple sources show children’s toys amongst the rubble.

According to Al Ghad TV, the Qanan family home was the first strike to occur after the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Gaza ended.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike 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:

Arafat Mustafa Qanan عرفات مصطفى قنن
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (14) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (26) [ collapse]

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    Source: @jihadabuhamdans

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    Source: @jihadabuhamdans

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    Source: @albaharmalik

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    Source: MsdrNews

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    Source: MsdrNews

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    Source: MsdrNews

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    Source: MsdrNews

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    Source: Iyad Hamdi

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    Source: Qanan family

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    Source: Tareq Qanan

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    Source: Amr Batsh

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    Source: Amr Batsh

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    Source: Amr Batsh

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    Source: Amr Batsh

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    Source: Amr Batsh

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    Source: Amr Batsh

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    Source: Amr Batsh

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Amr Batsh

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Amr Batsh

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    Source: Amr Batsh

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    Source: Asmaa Qanan

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Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of Nasser Hospital (مستشفى ناصر) to the west of Khan Younis (خان يونس), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.346941, 34.293052. 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
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (14) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT1336

Incident date

December 1, 2023

Location

النصيرات, Nuseirat camp, Deir Al Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.450065, 34.392934 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

An infant was killed by alleged Israeli bombing on the Al-Zahar family home in Nuseirat Camp in Deir Al-Balah on December 1, 2023.

The Palestinian Refugee Portal reported that a 5-month-old infant named Muhammad Hani Al-Zahar was killed by an Israeli bombing of his family’s house, and included names of the family members seen holding Muhammad’s body after it was taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital.

The pictures of the dead child were subject to online disinformation claiming the body was in fact a doll, with a number of Israeli and other publications later reporting such claims.

BBC Verify later reported that “an article by the Jerusalem Post, an influential Israeli newspaper, which showed an image of Muhammad in rigor mortis after his death and said it proved he was a doll. After a backlash, the paper removed the article from its website, saying on X (formerly Twitter) that the report “was based on faulty sourcing”.

Open source investigations platform Eekad Facts also fact-checked the accusation from Israeli and Arab accounts that the dead infant in the videos was just a doll used by Hamas to promote their agenda. Eekad Facts found that the original clip of a man carrying the infant was published on the account of Palestinian journalist “Hani Abu Rizq” on December 1st. The source also quoted the National Library of Medicine website who advise that “after death the skin becomes pale and gray, and the tension inside the eye is lost, which leads to its relaxation if left open”. Logically Facts also carried out a fact checking investigation with similar conclusions.

Journalist Mohannad Rasheed interviewed the mother of the child. Anadolu Agency also spoke with the grandfather of the infant, Attiya Abu Amra, and the mother, Asmahan Attia Al-Zahar. The Kashif Observatory also verified the validity of the videos of the infant as well as the report of the infants death by speaking with the child’s grandfather Attiya, who said that his daughter (the child’s mother) “was breastfeeding him and he was in good health and was not complaining of any harm, but they were subjected to shelling from artillery and tanks, forcing them to escape. They transferred the child to Al Awda Hospital, which asked them to transfer him to Al Aqsa Hospital so that his martyrdom would be announced.” Asmahan told Al Araby News that “Israeli artillery bombed the house next to their house, and that she ran outside carrying her infant, and she most likely thought he was still asleep, but he had been killed.”

According to @ShehabAgency, the infant was killed in Nuseirat camp while others referred to the location as the “Al-Mughraqa area”.

Where sources identified the belligerent responsible, all sources attributed the attack 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:

Muhammad Hani Al-Zahar محمد هاني الزهار
0.5 years old 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
    1
  • (1 child)
  • 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 (28) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (57) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Ahmed Gamal El-Din Rizk

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    Source: Ahmed Gamal El-Din Rizk

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    Source: Ahmed Gamal El-Din Rizk

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Jwan Jin

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    Source: Jwan Jin

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Refugeesps

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    Source: Refugeesps

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Refugeesps

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: WAFA Agency

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    Source: WAFA Agency

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    Source: WAFA Agency

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    Source: WAFA Agency

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    Source: WAFA Agency

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    Source: WAFA Agency

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Muthana Al NAjjar

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    Source: Muthana Al NAjjar

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    Source: Muthana Al NAjjar

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    Source: Muthana Al NAjjar

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: BBC Report

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    Source: BBC Report

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    Source: BBC Report

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    Source: BBC Report

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    Source: BBC Report

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Logically Facts Report

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Logically Facts Report

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Logically Facts Report

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Logically Facts Report

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Logically Facts Report

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Logically Facts Report

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    Source: Logically Facts Report

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Alijadallah Instagram

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Lead Stories Report

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    Source: Lead Stories Report

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    Source: Lead Stories Report

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    Source: Lead Stories Report

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    Source: Lead Stories Report

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    Source: Lead Stories Report

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    Source: Lead Stories Report

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Getty Images

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    Source: The Jerusalem News

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    Source: The Jerusalem News

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    Source: The Jerusalem News

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    Source: The Jerusalem News

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @BenjaminGoggin

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    Source: @Shayan86

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    Source: @Shayan86

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    Source: @Shayan86

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    Source: @Shayan86

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @zoo_bear

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    Source: @zoo_bear

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Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the Nuseirat (النصيرات) camp, for which the generic coordinates are: 31.450065, 34.392934. 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 infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • 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 (28) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT1345

Incident date

December 1, 2023

Location

ساحة الشوا, Shawa Square, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.506944, 34.467778 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Four members of the Al-Sawaf family were killed by alleged Israeli airstrikes on the Al-Sawaf family home in Shawa Square in the Al-Tiffah neighborhood east of Gaza City on December 1, 2023.

On January 14, 2024, Airwars’ researchers spoke with Shimaa Musfafa Al-Sawaf, daughter of the owner of the house, who provided the names and location of those killed in this attack – all of the men who were killed had been injured in a previous alleged Israeli airstrike two weeks earlier on November 17, 2023 (see incident ISPT1177a for details).

Four members of the Al Sawaf family were killed: Montaser Mustafa Al Sawaf, his brother Marwan Mustafa Al Sawaf, Mohammed Salam Al Sawaf, and Mohammed Fouad Al Sawaf.

Anadolu Agency reported on its website “the photographer collaborating with Anadolu Agency in the Gaza Strip, Montaser Al-Sawaf, his brother Marwan, and a number of his relatives, were martyred on Friday in an Israeli bombing targeting southern Gaza City. Montaser continued to bleed for about half an hour without any of the ambulances being able to reach him until he was transported in a civilian car to the Baptist Hospital. There, the doctors could not treat his injury because it was serious due to the lack of medical capabilities, which led to his death.”

A colleague of Montaser posted a memorial for him, adding that he was “with us in covering the massacres in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war” and ultimately was a victim of bombings twice. According to @muhammadshehad2, Montaser had continued to work despite the “untreated” injury he had from the initial bombing and @fatimah_j_ tweeted that Montaser had posted “if God has given you what you love, do what he loves” two days before his death. Montaser had also posted videos of himself feeding stray cats in Gaza. After his death, a cartoon of a smiling Montaser feeding cats in a bombed out Gaza was widely shared online.

SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom also described Marwan as a “freelance photographer” and Alaa Kamal posted a condolence message for his “beloved and childhood friend” Marwan, along with an image of him with his press equipment. Shirin Observatory also posted a memorial for Marwan: “Marwan was born on January 12 (30 years old) in Gaza, Palestine, and he lived and grew up there. He was always proud of his father, loved his country and his friends, and was a sincere, creative, and smiling person. Studied technology at the University College of Applied Sciences – Gaza. He worked at the University College of Applied Sciences – Gaza. He worked at Alef Multimedia.”

Members of the Al-Sawaf family killed in this strike were laid to rest in the city’s al-Batsh cemetery.

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 (4)

Mountaser Mustafa Al Sawaf منتصر مصطفى الصواف
male killed
Marwan Mustafa Al Sawaf مروان مصطفى الصواف
male killed
Mohammed Salam Al Sawaf محمد سلامة الصواف
male killed
Mohammed Fouad Al Sawaf محمد فؤاد الصواف
male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (4 men2 journalist)
  • 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 (20) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (23) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @ShehabAgency

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Alaa Kamal

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    Source: Iran press

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    Source: AJA palestine

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom

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    Source: SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Mohammed Hazem Al Masri

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    Source: Mohammed Hazem Al Masri

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    Source: @TRTArabi

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    Source: @Gaza_Shaheed

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    Source: @JournalistSupp1

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    Source: @muhammadshehad2

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    Source: @muhammadshehad2

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Anadolu Agency News

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    Source: Anadolu Agency News

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    Source: Anadolu Agency News

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    Source: Anadolu Agency News

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    Source: Anadolu Agency News

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Al Bawaba News

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Democracy Now News

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @KhaledBeydoun

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Desertup

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Desertup

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention Shawa Square (ساحة الشوا) to the east of Gaza city (غزة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.506944, 34.467778. 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
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (4 men2 journalist)
  • 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 (20) [ collapse]

No safe place – tracking civilian harm in southern Gaza

Published

November 21, 2023

Written by

Sanjana Varghese

Assisted by

Rowena De Silva

Header Image

Palestinians inspect the ruins of Watan Tower destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza city, on October 8, 2023 (Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contract with APAimages, reproduced under Creative Commons).

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At least 127 civilian harm allegations in 'safe zone' in first week after evacuation order

Airwars’ investigator Sanjana Varghese spoke to NPR’s Ruth Sherlock about this investigation. You can read the article here.

On October 12th, the Israeli military issued a blanket call for all Palestinians living in the north of the Gaza strip to move south, saying it was “for your own safety”. More than one million people were told to flee, ahead of an expected ground invasion.

The evacuation zone started at Wadi Gaza, which runs through the centre of the Gaza Strip. In theory, civilians fleeing south of that line should have been safer, but Palestinians have reported extensive attacks in civilian areas in the central and southern parts of Gaza.

In the first seven days after the warning – from October 14th to 21st – Airwars’ investigation team tracked and geolocated at least 127 separate allegations of civilian harm from explosive weapons in this southern zone.

Amongst these strikes were many that allegedly hit densely populated neighbourhoods and civilian objects such as schools, hospitals and restaurants. The frequency of these allegations in this supposed safe zone suggests that there was no safe place for civilians in Gaza, despite assurances from Israeli authorities.

Safe to flee?

On October 7th, 2023 Hamas militants broke through the fence that separates Gaza from Israel and killed more than 1,000 people, according to Israeli authorities. In retaliation Israel has dropped thousands of bombs on Gaza ahead of a ground invasion, killing more than 10,000 people, according to Palestinian authorities.

Since October 7th, Airwars’ research team has been tracking every public allegation of civilian harm in order to provide an independent assessment of civilian casualties.

We have already tracked more than 1,000 separate allegations across the Gaza Strip alone; each allegation represents the death or injury of at least one civilian resulting from explosive weapons use. For the most part, these allegations are still being fully assessed by our research team – with additional sources identified, casualty ranges produced, and where possible details on civilian names and biographies captured. You can find full details of the around 40 published incidents here, and more about our methodology here.

But we have also been able to use these allegations to understand overall patterns of harm. By geolocating each harm claim from the week following the IDF’s instructions for civilians to move south, we have been able to pull together a comprehensive database of 127 likely Israeli strikes leading to allegations of civilian harm that occurred the week following the evacuation order. An allegation of civilian harm does not mean that just one civilian was injured or killed; these allegations often involve multiple people, as well as damage to buildings or family homes.

Map of civilian harm allegations, south of Wadi Gaza, between 14-21 October 2023. The red dotted line refers to the Wadi Gaza. Many locations include more than one alleged civilian harm incident. Sanjana Varghese / Airwars. Images via Maxar Technologies / Airbus / Google Earth.

Map of civilian harm allegations, south of Wadi Gaza, between 14-21 October 2023. The red dotted line refers to the Wadi Gaza. Many locations include more than one alleged civilian harm incident. Sanjana Varghese / Airwars. Images via Maxar Technologies / Airbus / Google Earth.

We relied on news reporting, humanitarian agencies and organisations, open source documentation and relevant footage where necessary. We geolocated allegations to six levels of accuracy: area/region, neighbourhood, landmark/building, hospital, street, and an exact location. Any alleged civilian harm incident that we couldn’t geolocate was discounted from our dataset.

The distance from the Wadi Gaza to the Rafah Border Crossing on the southern border of the Gaza strip is roughly 27 kilometres. From east to west across the Gaza strip, the distance is around 6 kilometres at the narrowest point, and 12 kilometres at its widest point.

We found harm allegations on every day following the evacuation order. Just four days after the south was declared to be a safe area, the most civilian harm allegations were documented: twenty four allegations, suggesting at least twenty strikes in an area little longer than Manhattan.

In incidents that have been fully researched by Airwars’ research team, we found that in some cases strikes affected whole families as they sheltered together. In one incident, on October 21st, 2023, an alleged Israeli strike hit a Palestinian civil defence facility, alongside the Dahir family home, in Khirbet-al-adas, Rafah. Between six and ten people were likely killed in this strike and up to 11 injured. Of those killed, at least five were children from the same family, all aged 13 and under. Airwars assessors were able to cross-reference six of the individuals in this assessment with the dataset of names and individual ID numbers released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH).

In another incident on October 15th, in the al-Geneina neighbourhood in Rafah, the home of a doctor, Dr. Salah al-Din Zanoun, was hit. There were likely seven to eight people killed, all of whom were from the same family.  Of those killed, Airwars assessors were able to cross-reference five of the individuals in this assessment with the dataset of names and individual health ID numbers released by the MoH.

We also found that multiple civilian objects – such as hospitals and schools – were hit in the south of Gaza. As people were told to move south – and around 700,000 people, according to the New York Times, did so initially – many took shelter in buildings such as hospitals and schools. In a number of cases large numbers of civilians were crowded together when strikes hit this infrastructure, such as a strike on a UNRWA school in al-Maghazi refugee camp, on October 17th. UNRWA said that around 4,000 people were sheltering at this school. The next day, an alleged airstrike hit another UNRWA school in Khan Younis –  footage from the immediate aftermath clearly showed that groups of people had been using the school as a home, with clothes laid out over external railings around the school.

The scale of this campaign in Gaza makes this one of the most intense conflicts that Airwars has ever monitored – in just the first three weeks of the war, we monitored more individual incidents of harm than in any given month of any conflict Airwars has monitored: including deadly campaigns such as the war against ISIS. Our data also suggests that civilian harm is being compounded by the deteriorating conditions for civilians in Gaza, which is already one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

Clarifying note

Airwars uses a grading system to assess our allegations of civilian harm (you can read more about this here). Our assessments are being published in batches once they have been through the full review process.

Airwars has only tracked allegations of civilian harm – this means that there may be attacks with no public allegations of civilian harm which we haven’t included in our dataset.

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Incident Code

ISPT1234

Incident date

November 20, 2023

Location

مدينة حمد غرب خان يونس جنوب قطاع غزة, A residential apartment in Hamad Town, west of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, Khan Yunis, the Gaza Strip

Airwars assessment

On Monday, November 20 2023, between five and 15 civilians, including at least two children, were killed, and between 12 and 25 civilians, including at least five children and an elderly man, were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike and/or artillery strike on a residential apartment in Hamad Town, west of Khan Yunis, in the Gaza strip.

Images posted of the alleged strike appeared to show an apartment on the fifth floor of a six-storey block being destroyed.

Airwars has identified the names of five of the casualties. In a post, the Hamad Residential City Facebook page shared the names as – the children Selina Muhammad al-Rayes and her sister Siwar Muhammad al-Rayes, Alia Ahmed al-Rayes, her sister Raghad Ahmed al-Rayes, and Ismail Youssef al-Rayes.

Among those killed were the two young sisters, Selina Muhammad al-Rayes and Siwar Muhammad al-Rayes. In a series of heartbreaking Facebook posts, their father, Mohammed Rayyes, mourned that he had lost “the most beautiful, precious, and beloved blessings” in his life – his daughters, the “darlings of my heart”, and “the most beautiful thing my Lord has created” – and shared an image of him with his two daughters laughing. On December 31, 2023, Mohammed Rayyes dedicated two posts to each of his daughters. Sharing a picture of him carrying young Selina, he said, “Oh my soul, Selina, may God give me patience to leave you, father. The beloved of my soul and my life, I swear. The martyr, the soul of my heart, Selena.” In the other post, he shared a picture of him and Siwar, a small toddler with a radiant smile, and said, “The soul of the soul, the pulse, the passion, the love, and the beauty of the love Siwar. May God give me patience to leave you, my father’s heart, and soul. My martyr soul mate, my beloved love bracelet.” Mohammed Rayyes also shared videos of the children – one showed the two little girls laughing joyously with their father and playing with their toys, another showed little Siwar combing her fathers hair, and a final one showed the bodies of the two little children wrapped in white shrouds.

Anhar al-Rayes named his cousins, Alia Ahmed al-Rayes and Raghad Ahmed al-Rayes, as further casualties in the incident, and called Siwar and Selina as “Zizi’s daughters.” In the post, he asked, “May God accept them as martyrs and strengthen our hearts”, and termed the alleged attack as an “assassination of childhood on childhood day” – November 20th, the day of the alleged bombing, is celebrated as World Children’s Day.

Initial reportage from Shehab Agency stated that the bodies of three individuals killed and 12 injured had arrived at the Nasser Hospital following “an Israeli raid on Hamad Residential City in Khan Yunis”, with a later update to the death toll stating five were killed in the alleged bombing – this information was corroborated by Safa News, Quds Press and sources on social media. Quds further stated that children were among the casualties of the bombing, with Quds, Safa and other sources on social media sharing images of injured children being treated at Nasser Hospital, and other injured (including children and an elderly man) being carried into the hospital.

Anadolu Agency stated that according to local sources reporting to Wafa news agency, “Israeli warplanes fired dozens of missiles at the Hamad residential city, northwest of Khan Yunis, killing dozens of citizens, most of them children and women, and injuring others.” Twitter/X user @SamiaBelounis1 alleged that most of the casualties were “innocent children”, citing a death toll of eight “so far.” Similar claims were made by @rida_ehab, who alleged that most of the casualties were “children and infants” and shared an image of injured children being carried into Nasser Hospital. An image shared by @Bernadotte22 showed two infants being treated by healthcare workers, while a graphic video shared by @AhmedAbofoul showed a heavily injured infant being carried on a stretcher, with the caption “Several killed and injured, including children” in the alleged attack. Another video, shared by @HollowDreams0, showed injured civilians, including children, being carried into Nasser Hospital, and a heavily injured child being treated by medical workers. Twitter/X user @MilitaryPOV stated that there was a total of 15 killed and 25 injured as a result of the alleged bombing, sharing a video of a crowd gathering near the site of the reported strike, with emergency workers carrying the injured out of the area – @MuhammadSmiry corroborated the casualty figures, alleging that “this is the second apart in the same area.”

According to the Hamad Residential City Facebook Page, the fourth floor of Tower G3 was allegedly bombed – a video shared by the page showed the tower still standing but the floor destroyed. Images shared by Twitter/X user @PkSignofPeace showed the tower with the fourth floor and a part of the floor above it destroyed. Other videos shared by the Hamad Residential City page showed what was purportedly the aftermath of the strike, with dust covering the area in the darkness, emergency workers carrying the bodies of killed and/or heavily injured children, and ambulances rushing in amongst the screams and chaos, and a video of the injured being rushed into the hospital, including at least three children. Twitter/X user @msbnoun posted a video with the caption “This is the horrifying scenes coming out of Hamad City, west of Khan Yunis. No electricity, no disaster equipment to rescue the injured. This is absolutely heartbreaking to watch.”

Where possible, names 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.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike 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 (5)

Selina Muhammad Al-Rayes سيلينا محمد الريس
Child female killed Matched to MoH ID 44074234
Siwar Muhammad Al-Rayes سوار محمد الريس
Child female killed Matched to MoH ID 44074235
Alia Ahmed Al-Rayes عليا أحمد الريس
female killed Matched to MoH ID 44074230
Raghad Ahmed Al-Rayes رغد أحمد الريس
female killed Matched to MoH ID 44074232
Ismail Youssef Al-Rayes اسماعيل يوسف الريس
killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5 – 15
  • (2–4 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–25
  • 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 (41) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (38) [ collapse]

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    Source: @hijjwiofficial

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    Source: @hijjwiofficial

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    Source: @hijjwiofficial

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    Source: @hijjwiofficial

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    Source: @SafaPs

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    Source: @quds_feed

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    Source: @quds_feed

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    Source: @quds_feed

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    Source: @QudsPress

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    Source: @QudsPress

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    Source: @QudsPress

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    Source: @QudsPress

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    Source: Mohammed rayyes

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    Source: Hamadcity

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    Source: Official journalist adel zourob

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    Source: Mohammed rayyes

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    Source: Mohammed rayyes

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    Source: January 22nd, 2024

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    Source: Mohammed rayyes

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    Source: Mohammed rayyes

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    Source: @FactualNarrator

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    Source: @FactualNarrator

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    Source: @FactualNarrator

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    Source: @FactualNarrator

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    Source: @FactualNarrator

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    Source: @FactualNarrator

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    Source: @FactualNarrator

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    Source: @FactualNarrator

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    Source: @Bernadotte22

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    Source: @rida_ehab

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    Source: @PkSignofPeace

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    Source: @PkSignofPeace

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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 and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5 – 15
  • (2–4 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–25
  • 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 (41) [ collapse]

Incident Code

ISPT1238

Incident date

November 20, 2023

Location

مدرسة البريج في مخيم البريج, Bureij Preparatory School for Boys, Deir al Balah, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.439399, 34.408896 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At around midday on Monday, November 20th 2023, an alleged Israeli bombing of the Bureij Preparatory School for Boys located in the Block 12 of the Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip reportedly killed at least 12 civilians, including children and women, and injured at least 35 civilians. The school, run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA), provided shelter for about two thousand displaced people fleeing from Central and Northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network report.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent Hani Mahmoud reported that although there was a UNRWA flag on the roof of the affected school building, the Israeli armed forces still allegedly bombed it. The Twitter/X accounts Palestine Now (@PalestineNW) and @AlarabyT shared videos showing the aftermath of the attack where broken furniture in the school’s yard and traces of blood on the ground were to be seen.

According to the video shared by the Twitter/X account of the Palestinian Refugee Portal, the attack happened at lunch time when people staying at the school’s premises were cooking. A young Palestinian girl in the video shared by the Twitter/X account @AlQastalps also said that “we were making food when a large bomb came upon us.” A young boy featured in the video by the Twitter/X account @M0SC0W0 said that during the bombardment he was staying at the school and was drinking water while @qudsn spoke with a man who “went to the market and came back and found his children had been bombed”.

Referring to the Hamas statement where Hamas had called for an immediate action “to stop the targeting of civilians in schools protected under international law”, Anadolu Agency reported that more than 10 civilians were killed in the bombing. RT Arabic and Middle East Eye reported about 12 victims while Arabi 21 and Quds News Network estimated the total number of deaths as 15. Al Jazeera wrote that there were at least 20 killed civilians. Twitter/X user @PalinfoAr shared a heartbreaking video of a mother searching for her children among the dead bodies wrapped in white cloth.

Airwars identified the names of two of the victims killed in the attack  – Sami Mohammed Kalab and Bashir Othamn. Both names were identified from videos and images showing the body bags of the victims.

As no clear information was yet available regarding the number of children killed, and as several sources reported that the majority of the victims were children, Airwars estimated between six and 10 children killed – half of the total numbers of victims reportedly killed.

Dozens of civilians, most of them children, were also reportedly wounded in the attack on the UNRWA school. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported about 35 injured civilians. The Telegram channel of Quds News Network and a Twitter/X account @fouadkhreiss shared videos of the injured children being transported to a hospital. A Twitter/X account @EyeonPalestine shared an emotional video of a young Palestinian boy taking care of his sister injured in the school’s bombing. Al-Jazeera Gaza published a video showing the damage inside the school on Facebook where an eye-witness interviewed  said that women were also among the victims – without providing a number. As such, Airwars estimated that 17 children were injured and at least two women were killed, and two other women injured in the attack. These estimations will be updated once more information comes to light.

The sources differed in their reporting on the nature of the deadly strike. While OCHA, Arabi 21, Safa News and Quds News Network reported that the school was hit by artillery fire, Anadolu Agency referring to a Hamas statement as well as Middle East Eye wrote that it was an airstrike allegedly perpetrated by the Israeli military.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces. The Israeli military did not comment on the strike.

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 11:52 am local time.

The victims were named as:

Sami Mohammed Kalab سامي محمد كلاب
Age unknown male killed
Bashir Othamn بشير عثمان
Age unknown male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    IDP or refugee camp, School, UN facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12 – 20
  • (6–10 children2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    35
  • 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]

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Geolocation notes (3) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the Bureij Preparatory School for Boys (مدرسة البريج في مخيم البريج) in Bureij (البريج). Analysing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to the following exact coordinates: 31.439399, 34.408896.  

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  • Imagery:
    @CensoredNws

  • Imagery:
    @CensoredNws

  • Imagery:
    @CensoredNws

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, School, UN facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12 – 20
  • (6–10 children2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    35
  • 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

ISPT1177a

Incident date

November 17, 2023

Location

ساحة الشوا, Shawa Square, Gaza, the Gaza Strip

Geolocation

31.506944, 34.467778 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least 46 people were killed, including women, children and a journalist, and at least five others were injured, including three journalists, by alleged Israeli airstrikes on the Al-Sawaf family home in Shawa Square in the Al-Tiffah neighborhood east of Gaza City at 11:15pm on November 17, 2023.

On January 14, 2024, Airwars’ researchers spoke with Shimaa Musfafa Al Sawaf, daughter of the owner of the house, who provided the names of those killed and injured by the strike on her family’s home.

From the family of Mustafa Hosni Al-Sawaf (father of Shimaa Musfafa Al Sawaf who provided the details), Mustafa Hosni Al-Sawaf was killed along with his wife Maha Youssef Al-Jayar, along with their sons Mahmoud Mustafa Al-Sawaf and Ahmed Mustafa Al-Sawaf. Mahmoud’s wife Zein Mahmoud Al-Sawaf was also killed, along with their children Baraa Mahmoud Al-Sawaf, Maha Mahmoud Al-Sawaf, and Karam Mahmoud Al-Sawaf. Ahmed’s son Omar Ahmed Al-Sawaf and daughter Shahad Ahmed Al-Sawaf were also among those killed. Mustafa and Maha’s other three sons Mohammed Al-Sawaf, Marwan Mustafa Al-Sawaf and Montaser Mustafa Al-Sawaf were injured in the strike, but Marwan and Montaser were later killed in another incident on December 1st (see incident ISPT1345 for details).

A woman named Saleha Mahmoud Al-Sawaf was also killed, with her son Muhammad Mahmoud Al-Sawaf, Muhammad’s wife Hanaa Jamal Al-Batsh, along with their sons Obaida Muhammad Al-Sawaf, Osama Muhammad Al-Sawaf and Ahmed Muhammad Al-Sawaf, along with Saleha’s other grandson Mustafa Hatem Al-Sawaf.

Mustafa Hosni Al-Sawaf’s brother Khamis Hosni Al-Sawaf was killed along with his wife Magda Al-Sawaf and their children Hanadi Khamis Al-Sawaf, Ramez Khamis Al-Sawaf, and Youssef Khamis Al-Sawaf. Ramez’s wife Samah Magdy Al-Helou was also killed, in addition to their daughter Basmala Ramez Al-Sawaf. Youssef’s wife Shahinda Al-Batsh, and children Suhaib Youssef Al-Sawaf, Mahmoud Youssef Al-Sawaf, and Sham Youssef Al-Sawaf were also killed.

Another member of the Al-Sawaf family named Kafa Ahmed Al-Sawaf was killed, alongside her son Abdul Karim Ahmed Al-Sawaf, his wife Suhaila Al-Sawaf, and their children Al-Hassan Abdul Karim Al-Sawaf, Basant Abdul Karim Al-Sawaf, and Ahmed Abdel Karim Al-Sawaf. 

From Nima Al-Sawaf’s family, Nima Al-Sawaf was killed, in addition to her daughter Asma Abd al-Rahman al-Sawaf and son Izz al-Din Abd al-Rahman al-Sawaf.

A man named Nabil Salah Al-Sawaf was killed with his wife Inam Al-Sawaf, and their daughter Lama Nabil Al-Sawaf. 

Muhammad Fouad Al-Sawaf and Muhammad Salama Al-Sawaf were both injured in the strike, and were later killed in another strike on December 1st (see incident ISPT1345 for details).

In addition to the members of the Al-Sawaf family who were killed and injured, eight displaced civilians who were sheltering with the family were killed. @nissren_jaber reported that the building contained 150 displaced people at the time of the strike.

Mustafa Hosni Al-Sawaf (also referred to as Dr. Mustafa) was described by different sources as a journalist and a writer, with one source adding that “we learned from him at the beginning the path towards media life and media appearance”. Anadolu Agency also posted a condolence message for Mustafa, referring to him as a “journalist and political analyst” and “the great journalist and writer Mustafa”. Palestinian Ministry of Culture mourned the loss of Mustafa, pointing out that he “is considered one of the most famous Palestinian media figures and analysts, and has written hundreds of writings and analyzes on Palestinian political affairs.” Literary Hub described Mustafa as “the editor-in-chief of several newspapers and was founder and editor-in-chief of the first daily newspaper published in the Gaza Strip. Al-Sawaf also published a number of books, including a six-part series of articles, Days of Rage (2005), and a collection of political short stories, There Was a Householder (2017).” However, an Israeli Journalist named Roi Kais reportedly accused Mustafa of being sympathetic to Hamas.

According to @HuDa_NaIm92 (who initially reported that Montaser Mustafa Al-Sawaf was killed), Montaser was a photojournalist for Anadolu Agency, and included an image of him in a press vest with an AA microphone. Montaser posted a few days later on his own Facebook page that more than 45 people had been killed in the strike, “including my mother, father, my two brothers, and all of their children,” and that “I was injured in the face. Unfortunately, I have not yet found a doctor to treat me, as I am in Gaza City and there is no hospital for treatment, not even doctors” along with an image of his swollen and injured face.

A tweet from @Bashar_Hamdan referred to his friend as director Muhammad Al-Sawaf, adding that Muhammad’s family was filled with hope that the Arab countries would stop the conflict in Gaza, but instead were killed and injured. Anadolu Agency identified Muhammad as the director of Atef Multimedia Agency.

Another son of Mustafa and his wife Maha who was injured in the strike named Marwan Mustafa posted a condolence message to his “beloved” father, his mother who “left my heart”, his “beloved brother” Mahmoud and “the father of a kind heart” Ahmed, as well as a total of 47 people from his family who had been killed. According to Shireen Observatory, Marwan was born on January 12th, 1993 (he was 30 years old), he studied technology at the University College of Applied Sciences – Gaza and he worked at both the college and for Alef Multimedia, and he was pictured in a press vest.

Al Mayadeen News spoke with a witness who said that the strike occurred at 11:15pm on November 17th.

According to @Gazanow12345, a “massive fire” broke out at the location of the strike. Al Mayadeen also spoke with an eyewitness who said that “bodies were scattered tens of meters away from the targeted building” and that city residents were calling on rescue workers to extinguish the fire and rescue those trapped under the rubble.

*The youngest generation of each family have been counted as children until additional information comes out about the ages of victims.

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 at 23:15:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (45)

Mustafa Hosni Al-Sawaf مصطفى حسني الصواف
Adult male killed
Maha Youssef Al-Jayar مها يوسف الجيار
Adult female killed
Mohammed Al-Sawaf محمد الصواف
Adult male injured
Mahmoud Mustafa Al-Sawaf محمود مصطفى الصواف
Adult male killed
Zein Mahmoud Al-Sawaf زين محمود الصواف
Adult female killed
Baraa Mahmoud Al-Sawaf براء محمود الصواف
male killed
Maha Mahmoud Al-Sawaf مها محمود الصواف
female killed
Karam Mahmoud Al-Sawaf كرم محمود الصواف
male killed
Ahmed Mustafa Al-Sawaf أحمد مصطفى الصواف
Adult male killed
Shahad Ahmed Al-Sawaf شهد أحمد الصواف
female killed
Omar Ahmed Al-Sawaf عمر احمد الصوف
male killed
Montaser Mustafa Al-Sawaf منتصر مصطفى الصواف
Adult male injured
Marwan Mustafa Al-Sawaf مروان مصطفى الصواف
30 years old male injured
Saleha Mahmoud Al-Sawaf صالحة محمود الصواف
Adult female killed
Mustafa Hatem Al-Sawaf مصطفى حاتم الصواف
killed
Muhammad Mahmoud Al-Sawaf محمد محمود الصواف
Adult male killed
Hanaa Jamal Al-Batsh هناء جمال البطش
Adult female killed
Obaida Muhammad Al-Sawaf عبيدة محمد الصواف
male killed
Osama Muhammad Al-Sawaf أسامة محمد الصواف
male killed
Ahmed Muhammad Al-Sawaf أحمد محمد الصواف
male killed
Khamis Hosni Al-Sawaf خميس حسني الصواف
Adult male killed
Magda Al-Sawaf ماجدة الصواف
Adult female killed
Hanadi Khamis Al-Sawaf هنادي خميس الصواف
Adult female killed
Ramez Khamis Al-Sawaf رامز خميس الصواف
Adult male killed
Samah Magdy Al-Helou سماح مجدي الحلو
Adult female killed
Basmala Ramez Al-Sawaf بسملة رامز الصواف
female killed
Youssef Khamis Al-Sawaf وسف خميس الصواف
Adult male killed
Shahinda Al-Batsh شاهيندا البطش
Adult female killed
Suhaib Youssef Al-Sawaf صهيب يوسف الصواف
male killed
Mahmoud Youssef Al-Sawaf محمود يوسف الصواف
male killed
Sham Youssef Al-Sawaf شام يوسف الصواف
female killed
Kafa Ahmed Al-Sawaf كفا أحمد الصواف
Adult female killed
Abdul Karim Ahmed Al-Sawaf عبد الكريم أحمد الصواف
Adult male killed
Suhaila Al-Sawaf سهيلة الصواف
Adult female killed
Al-Hassan Abdul Karim Al-Sawaf الحسن عبد الكريم الصواف
male killed
Basant Abdul Karim Al-Sawaf بسنت عبدالكريم الصواف
female killed
Ahmed Abdel Karim Al-Sawaf أحمد عبدالكريم الصواف
male killed
Nima Al-Sawaf نعمة الصواف
Adult female killed
Izz al-Din Abd al-Rahman al-Sawaf عزالدين عبدالرحمن الصواف
male killed
Asma Abd al-Rahman al-Sawaf أسماء عبد الرحمن الصواف
female killed
Nabil Salah Al-Sawaf نبيل صلاح الصواف
Adult male killed
Inam Al-Sawaf أنعام الصواف
Adult female killed
Lama Nabil Al-Sawaf لمى نبيل الصواف
female killed
Muhammad Fouad Al-Sawaf محمود فواد الصواف
male injured
Muhammad Salama Al-Sawaf محمود سلامة الصواف
male injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    46 – 48
  • (19 children12 women9 men1 journalist)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • 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 (21) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @HuDa_NaIm92

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @adham922

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AJArabic

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @rdooan

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @rdooan

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Bashar_Hamdan

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @AJA_Palestine

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Montaser Al Sawaf

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention Shawa Square (ساحة الشوا) to the east of Gaza city (غزة), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.506944, 34.467778. 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
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    46 – 48
  • (19 children12 women9 men1 journalist)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • 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 (21) [ collapse]