On or shortly before June 7th, at least four civilians were likely killed by Israeli artillery in Deir Al-Bala. The location of the incident was not specified by sources, who only referred to the deceased as having been taken Al-Asqa hospital from from the Al Jaafrawi area.
Facebook account Kalefalqtiea reported that four deceased men were being moved to the hospital, naming the men as Saad Abu Mughaseeb, Muhammad Hatem Abu Mughaseeb, Muhammad al-Kurd, and another member of the al-Kurd family. A later post identified Musa Nael al-Kurd as this family member.
A Facebook post from surviving family member Mohammad al-Kurd reported that Musa and Muhammad al-Kurd had been killed “in artillery shelling.” There was no explicit reference in other sources as to how the other two men were killed, or indeed if it was in the same strike. Airwars has grouped these individuals together based on their presence at the hospital and the collective references to the deceased in local sources.
The men were all in their twenties and thirties: Muhammad Mughaseeb was the youngest at 23, followed by 26-year-old Musa, 28-year-old Saad, and 38-year-old Muhammad al-Kurd.
Friends and family posted condolence messages to social media, asking “for God [to] have mercy on them and admit them into His spacious Paradise.”
Moamen Yasin asked that “God have mercy” on his friend Muhammad Mughaseeb, including a photograph of Muhammad smiling, alongside another photograph of a deceased Muhammad, lying on a stretcher, wrapped in white cloth.
In a post which mourned the life of Saad Abu Mughaseeb, Salim al-Bahry asked that his “brother” Saad be given a ‘grave […] among the gardens of Paradise.” He shared an image of Saad sitting on the boot of a car.
Remembering Musa and Muhammad al-Kurd, relative Mohammad Abu Janneh wrote that with their losses, he had “lost a piece of [his] soul.” He referred to Musa as a “groom,” indicating that he may have been preparing to be married.
Following the deaths of the four young men, Hani Alshaer warned people not to approach the Al Jaafrawi area as “the army was now present.”’
Sources referenced artillery strikes in relation to this event, with related sources also noting the presence of “the army” in the proximity of the area. The reference to heavy weapons and “the army”, which very likely refer to the Israeli Military, in addition to the Ministry of Health list’s attribution to Israeli forces, Airwars has graded this as a likely strike.
All four names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health list of fatalities in Gaza released July 24th 2024.