Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On the evening of October 30, 2024, twelve civilians, all members of the Salibi family, including six women and three were young children, were killed, and at least two others were injured in an airstrike allegedly perpetrated by the Israeli military. One person remains missing, and no further information has been published on their identity. More than 20 individuals had been residing in the two-story house on the Salibi family farm in Beit Salibi, Shmustar, near Baalbeck city, at the time of the attack.
Initial tweets from Al-Mayadeen at 4:21 PM stated that an Israeli raid had hit Beit Salibi, resulting in deaths and injuries. An alarm was raised by Ala Saleem on Facebook half an hour later, calling for an ambulance and bulldozers to be sent to the Salibi family farm to free victims from under the rubble. Later that evening at 8:53 PM, the Lebanese Civil Defense forces reported that the bodies of seven individuals had been recovered from the rubble, with the search for missing persons ongoing into the night.
Shortly after midnight, the final figures from IM Lebanon, Mourasel News, and Yasour News placed the death toll from the attack at 12 individuals, while the highest toll of 13 was provided by Hamieh Amal. A Facebook post from Palestine Post added that in addition to 12 killed, five others were wounded, while Juniper News reported seven injuries. The lowest injury toll was provided by @OTVLebanon, who referenced two wounded in critical condition.
The deceased were identified as being Ahmed Abdullah Salibi, Ali Abdullah Salibi, Benin Ahmed Salibi, Fatima Ahmed Salibi, Huda Mufleh, Malak Mufleh, Zahraa Ahmed Salibi, Zainab Ahmed Salibi, Zainab Hassan Salibi, and the children Abbas Ahmed Salibi, Jaafar Ahmed Salibi, and Tala Hassan Salibi.
A collage of pictures of ten of the victims was posted extensively across various social media platforms. In it, the victims were pictured smiling, posing in the sun, with friends and family, and with flowers and medals. An image of one of the boys killed depicted him in an academic mortarboard and gown, having just graduated from Madrasah Al-Mahdi in Shmustar.
A Facebook post mourning Zainab Hassan Salibi was written by one of her teachers at Madrasah Al-Mahdi, Hamieh Amal, describing her as having been “lively and energetic” and “a bundle of […] positivity and challenge”. Zainab was remembered for having been an outstanding student who always attained the highest marks in class in French. Leading up to the attack, Zainab had been terrified of loud noises, to the point of “screaming in class” at the sound of bombs detonating elsewhere. A picture of Zainab shared by the teacher depicted her smiling at the camera in a pink blouse and black hijab. According to Hamieh Amal, most of the deceased had been students at Madrasah Al-Mahdi.
Where sources identified belligerents, all sources attributed the airstrike to the Israeli military.
The incident occured in the evening.
The victims were named as:
Family members (12)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Beit Salibi (بيت صليبي), for which the generic coordinates are: 33.972202, 35.985654. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (72) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (21) [ collapse]
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Daiatna Ahla -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Reda arzouni -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Ailia atouni -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: @ZahlePolitics -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Ghadeer zein al-deen -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Ghadeer zein al-deen -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Maryam al-yasseri -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Abu radad al-seari -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Bat ntef -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Hacked page -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: bintjbeil.org -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Dr kefah ezzat youssef -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Tripoli news -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: @lebanosnews -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: @Ertikaznews -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: @Ahmadhamieh313 -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: @Taysirbalbisi -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Hamieh amal -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: Hamieh amal -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.