On October 10th 2023, a civilian was killed and between three and 10 other civilians were injured in an alleged Israeli airstrike on the house of the Al-Shallah family in the Karama neighbourhood. Another individual was initially injured but ultimately succumbed to his wounds. He has been recorded as a militant.
Alaa Jamal Al-Shalah was reportedly killed and his brother Muhammad Jamal Al-Shalah (a militant) was transported to intensive care in critical condition, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
Friends and family paid tribute to Alaa and prayed on social media for Muhammad’s speedy recovery. Khaled Mansour Abu Alameer paid tribute to Alaa as “the brother, friend, lover, and man with a permanent smile, cheerful expressions”. Mohamed Esmail referred to Muhammad as “the freed prisoner” but no other details were available on the circumstances of his imprisonment.
When Airwars first published this incident on January 1, 2024, Muhammad Jamal Al-Shalah was recorded as an injured civilian, and no open sources were found to suggest that he was a militant. As such, Muhammad Jamal Al-Shalah was recorded as a civilian. This was in line with Airwars’ methodology which is employed across all conflicts we document, and informed by international standards regarding the ‘presumption of civilian status‘. Specifically, as outlined by the International Committee of the Red Cross, civilian status is assumed until evidence is identified to the contrary.
On July 7, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)’s armed wing, published a tribute to Muhammad Jamal Al-Shalah, identifying him as a fighter. As such, Airwars updated Muhammad Jamal Al-Shalah’s status from civilian to militant. In reviewing the research, Airwars also found that Muhammad Jamal Al-Shalah ultimately succumbed to his wounds in this incident. As such, the minimum number of civilians reportedly killed in this incident did not change, but the original record of his injury was removed from the incident.
Ten civilians were injured in the strike, some of them serious, according to a tweet from user @SafaPs. A post from Ahmed Salha specified that three of the injuries were serious, and that they were transported for treatment.
Airwars has matched Alaa’s name with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of nearly 7000 victims’ names and ID numbers released on October 26th.
In cases where sources attributed responsibility for the strike, they held the Israeli military responsible. A post from Alaa Hasan specified that the strike occurred without warning.