In the past few hours, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been attempting to prove that the strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in the heart of the Gaza Strip was not their doing. They claim the aftermath is far less horrifying than the Palestinian side portrays.
The IDF’s spokesperson has published images of the Al-Ahli Hospital area before and after the explosion. The pictures reveal that the main damage was inflicted on vehicles in the hospital’s parking lot, walls, and roofs of several auxiliary buildings. The hospital building itself remains intact and practically undamaged.
There is also minor damage to a Baptist church, as seen in the daytime footage of the explosion aftermath.
Notably, there are no images depicting damage outside or inside the hospital. The IDF insists there are no signs of a missile drop and explosion – the very scenario the Israeli Air Force is accused of by Hamas.
In particular, there is no impact crater, which would typically be much more substantial following the detonation of such a powerful explosive.
Regarding casualty figures, according to an IDF spokesperson, they do not have this information. However, they dispute the claims made by Hamas, which suggested that a missile strike on the parking area could result in 500 or more deaths.
Hamas representatives quickly laid responsibility for the strike on the Israeli Air Force, sparking anti-Israeli protests in various countries.
The Israeli side continues to assert that the explosion within the hospital’s vicinity resulted from a missile launched by the banned Islamic Jihad after a failed attempt.
The IDF has published an infographic of the missile’s trajectory that landed in the hospital.
In total, around 7:00 PM, when the hospital explosion was reported, militants fired approximately 10 rockets toward Israeli territory.
According to IDF operational system analysis, a salvo of enemy rockets was launched from the hospital’s vicinity, and an explosion occurred there shortly afterward. According to intelligence data at our disposal, the unsuccessful rocket launch that caused an explosion at the hospital was carried out by the Islamic Jihad,
as stated in a press release by the Israel Defense Forces.
Today, the IDF presented an infographic on the unsuccessful rocket launches from Gaza territory. Israeli intelligence claims that there have been over 450 such failed launches since the conflict began.
Further proof from Israeli intelligence includes the publication of an intercepted audio recording in which two militants purportedly discuss the rocket’s impact in Gaza, indicating that it was launched by the Islamic Jihad.
In Arab countries, particularly in Lebanon, there are doubts about the recording’s authenticity due to the atypical accents of the speakers, which are unusual for Gaza.
Israel has transmitted all available materials regarding the strike on Al-Ahli Hospital to the United Nations Security Council.
The Palestinian Account
Shortly after the incident, distressing photos emerged showing killed and bloodied people, allegedly taken at the hospital’s explosion site, as claimed by the Palestinian authorities.
The reports stated that there were no less than 500 dead and 600 wounded.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a three-day mourning period, referring to the incident as a «massacre in the hospital.»
The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed its «shock and horror» at the news of the strike on the Gaza hospital, emphasizing that
hospitals should be shelters where human lives are saved, not places of death and destruction. Patients should not be killed in their hospital beds, and doctors should not die trying to save others. Hospitals must be protected under international humanitarian law,
the Red Cross statement said.
Arab TV channels claim that the Israel Defense Forces had already targeted Al-Ahli Hospital a few days ago and even informed its director that those strikes served as warnings.
It’s worth noting that today’s daytime images of the hospital area show only the remains of burned-out vehicles in the parking lot and some damage to certain structures but not the primary hospital building.
Biden’s Remarks
US President Joe Biden, who arrived in Tel Aviv today for talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, sided with Israel in interpreting the strike on the hospital.
I was deeply saddened and outraged by yesterday’s explosion at the hospital in Gaza. From what I have seen, it seems like it was done by another group, not by you [Israel]. However, many people are not sure about this,
Joe Biden admitted.
