Shortly before 12:27 on October 24, 2024, at least 17 identified civilians, including at least 11 children, three women, and the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing at the Islamic University, were killed and at least 32 civilians were injured in a declared Israeli airstrike on the Al Shohadaa school in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip. The Al Shohadaa school housed displaced people at the time of the strike.
Safa News reported injuries at 12:27 as a result of an Israeli aircraft bombing of the Shuhadaa al-Nuseirat School. At 12:45, Safa reported 11 killed, including four children. Less than 30 minutes later at 13:11, 16 were reported killed with 32 injuries. At 13:28, the deceased were starting to be identified. One minute later, the death toll rose to 17 and the injuries to 42. Of those killed, nine were children according to Dr. Muneer Alboursh on X/Twitter, who also added that more than 52 people were wounded, among them women and children, in addition to a number of missing persons. According to Facebook user Hema Wael, most of the injured were children and elderly. The highest death toll was provided by Firdaws Firdaws, which stated “about 20” killed.
The IDF confirmed their involvement in the strike on their official Telegram, writing “with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center in the area of Nuseirat. The command and control center, which was embedded inside a compound that previously served as the “[Shohadaa]’ al-Nuseirat” School, was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel.” Airwars was not able to identify any Hamas militants killed in the strike through our open-source methodology. This assessment will be updated if more information emerges.
@Ajmubasher on X/Twitter reported “at least 17 martyrs and 32 wounded as a result of targeting the Shuhada al-Nuseirat School, which houses displaced people” in Nuseirat camp. Included is a video of the devastation after the bombing – the deceased covered in blankets amongst the rubble, with fires burning as remaining civilians run frantically trying to find survivors or move the deceased.
Another graphic video by @OsamaDmour5 shows a deceased young girl being carried out of the school while a wounded young girl covered in blood is evacuated from the building. In a video posted by Naji Abdel Fattah on Facebook, the body of a child is being transported on a truck bed. A heartbreaking video posted by Albalad News Network shows two young men and a woman mourning the loss of a young boy whose body is wrapped in a shroud.
@khaberni on X/Twitter further demonstrated the devastation to human life, posting graphic photos of dismembered limbs from the deceased, including the arms of children, who arrived at the Al-Awda Hospital as a result of the bombing. The dismembered limbs were burned from the strike. A man in gloves holds a piece of burned flesh that was seemingly attached to one of the arms.
Social media tributes by family and friends helped Airwars to identify the names of 17 civilians who were killed from at least three different families.
33-year-old mother Rawaa Kamal Abu Kamil was killed alongside her relatives, nine-year-old Muhammad Hatem Abu Kamil, eight-year-old Mahmoud Jamal Abu Kamil, and 11-month-old Mamdouh Mansour Abu Kamil.
An eleven-year-old boy named Riyad Hussam Daloul was killed alongside his nine-year-old sister Malak Hussam Daloul.
42-year-old Ayman Jameel Ismail al-Baz lost his life alongside the lives of his wife Samah Mohammed al-Baz and their five children: four sons named Jamil Ayman al-Baz, Firas Ayman al-Baz, Mohammad Ayman al-Baz, one-year-old Abdul Rahman Ayman, and a daughter named Malak Ayman al-Baz. Ayman was initially injured but died of his wounds on November 5th, 2024. A Facebook post from Maryam Ahmed identified Ayman as “a field commander in the Qassam Brigades,” therefore he has been counted as a militant.
Mahmoud R. [al-Baz] announced to “All the honorable Al-Bazat in the homeland and abroad” that Samah and her children were killed and would “join their grandfather and uncles and cousins and aunts and cousins and their family members and the rest of the martyr” – showing the impact the war has had on families. An image accompanying the post includes at least three bodies covered in white plastic.
The deadly strike also took the lives of Dr. Ashraf Yaqoub al-Jadi, a nine-year-old boy named Moatasem Mohammad Fattouh, 10-year-old Zeina Al-Omar Alaa Hanona, Qusay Munir Muhammad Abu Zuraiq, and Maria Mohammed Abed al Moati Basal.
According one of the sources, Abo Yazan, Dr. Ashraf was killed “along with eight of his brothers” when the prayer hall of the school was bombed. Many mourned Dr. Ashraf Yaqoub al-Jadi, Head of the Practical Training Department and Dean of the Faculty of Nursing at the Islamic University in Gaza. Dr. Mahmoud Rafeq Al Zowied posted a condolence message for his friend and his niece’s husband Dr. Ashraf, along with an image of him wearing academic attire and giving a speech. Mohammed Abed honored the supervisor of his scientific research for his Master’s degree Dr. Ashraf, describing him as a “role model doctor with good ambition” – according to Mohammed, Dr. Ashraf memorized the Quran and recited it in one sitting, despite how busy he was.
Mahmoud Hikmat lamented the death of Dr. Ashraf, writing that he had studied in several countries, held one of the highest academic degrees, and never allowed party discussions inside the hall while the obituary written by Dr. Iyad. Iqnaibi (quoted by Fedaa Zatari Zatari) added that Dr. Ashraf has published research in international journals.
Tariq Musleh posted a condolence message to Youssef Abu Zuraiq for the loss of his relative Qusay Munir Muhammad Abu Zuraiq. Magdy Zaki Abu Taqia also mourned “the beloved” Qusay, along with a prayer and Amani Naeem memorialized her cousin Qusay.
Ibrahim Basal Abu Nasser posted a condolence message for the loss of Maria Mohammed Abed al Moati Basal to their uncle Abu Raafat, grandfather of Maria, along with an image of a group of men mourning a body wrapped in a white shroud. According to Medhat Basal, Maria was “an innocent flower who graduated from high school and went to university” so that she could see the world. Her father “works as a worker in a small factory that produces electric heaters. She has no connection to any political, social or resistance activity.” Maria’s siblings, Baha and Ahmed, were reportedly killed months earlier when trying to collect firewood from their home which they had been forces to flee.
Mohamed Abd El-Razek on Facebook shared a picture of three of the children who were killed, with a fourth figure on the left – all are wrapped in blankets on the floor and one of the children’s bodies that was visible was covered in dust. In between two of the bodies was a dismembered hand.
Multiple sources reported that the school is located near the al-Ahly club in Nuseirat Refugee Camp.
Twitter/X user @easybakeovensz posted an image of a nose cone of Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) / GBU-39 found (1:04) after the strike. Osama Morsi Boqolem reported that incendiary weapons were used.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the eighth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list.