Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISPT050724q

Incident date

July 5, 2024

Location

عناصر تأمين المساعدات شرق رفح, East Rafah, Gaza Strip, Rafah, the Gaza Strip

Airwars assessment

In the early afternoon of Friday, July 5, 2024, at least one civilian was reportedly shot dead by the alleged Israeli military vehicles in East Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Social media users helped Airwars to identify the name of the victim as 33-year-old Sufyan Alian Baraka (Al-Siou), adding that he was shot while getting aid. The age of Sufyan was ascertained with the help of Shireen Monitor, an organisation which has a list of “Martyrs of Palestine” from 2023 onward and includes thousands of names.

In the aftermath of the incident, friends and family turned to social media to express their grief, sharing photos in his memory.

His aunt, Nahed Abu Tueima, wrote on Facebook about the devastating loss her family had just experienced. She shared that her third sister, Umm Hussam, was given the heartbreaking title of “mother of the martyr” after the passing of his son. Speaking with her on the phone from Ramallah, she could hear her sister crying as she begged the men of the family to remain patient. Meanwhile, in Ramallah, Nahed described the heavy silence that settled over her home, the street, and the entire town, with people depicting Sufyan’s heaven as: “a large stadium, his goal guarded by angels, no fear of tanks, no hunger, no displacement, only eternal rest.”

He was presented as an active football player, with most of the pictures showed him on the field or wearing a football jersey, like in the one posted by his cousin Rami Tima on Facebook.

In addition, one of the images captured him holding a trophy.

A video of his funeral was published on Facebook by Walaa Walaa, in which people were crying and bidding farewell.

The incident occurred at around 3 pm local time, according to a Facebook post by Mohammed Adwan

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Israeli forces.

The incident occured at approximately 3:00 pm local time.

The victims were named as:

Sufyan Alian Hassan Baraka سفيان عليان بركة
33 years old male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Ground operation
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Small arms and light weapons
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (24) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Aljadida Lajlekom
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Nahed Abo Tueima
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Alsharqiapulse
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Rami Tima
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Qadeyah1
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Ground operation
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Small arms and light weapons
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military

Sources (24) [ collapse]