A deadly explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday sent shockwaves through the region, just hours before President Biden’s visit to Israel, intended as a display of support for the ongoing conflict in the area. The incident has prompted differing accounts from both sides of the conflict, leaving many questions unanswered. Here, we delve into what you need to know about the incident.
President Biden, who has firmly supported Israel throughout the ongoing conflict, echoed Israel’s view that the hospital blast appeared to be the result of an errant rocket fired by a “terrorist group.” This perspective aligns with the Israeli government’s stance. In contrast, some Western countries have called for an investigation without laying blame at this stage, while several Arab states have squarely held Israel responsible.
Dr. Fadel Naim, head of orthopedic surgery, revealed that around 1,000 individuals were at the Al Ahli Arab Hospital on Tuesday morning. More rushed to the facility later in the day after residents of the Zeitoun neighborhood received evacuation warnings from the Israeli military. In addition to providing care to a surge in wounded patients, hospitals across Gaza have seen people seeking refuge within their grounds, believing these sites to be safe havens from airstrikes.
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naqa reported that over 3,000 people sought refuge at the hospital at the time of the strike.
The Hamas-controlled territory’s health ministry reported at least 471 casualties in the Gaza hospital bombing, with more than 300 others sustaining injuries. Health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra cautioned that the death toll was likely to rise as rescuers worked to retrieve bodies from the rubble.
The overwhelmed al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City received around 350 casualties from the blast, compounding its existing strain from earlier strikes. Medical staff at the crowded facility performed surgeries on the floor and in hallways, often without anesthesia.
Al-Shifa’s director, Mohammed Abu Selmia, urgently appealed for essential medical supplies and warned that the hospital’s generators would soon run out of fuel, leading to a complete shutdown unless aid reaches the Gaza Strip.
However, there remains disagreement over the death toll at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, even within Gaza, with Selmia suggesting it might be closer to 250.
Prior to the hospital bombing, Israeli authorities had urged residents in the northern parts of Gaza, including Gaza City, to relocate south for their safety. The Israeli military had specifically advised Zeitoun residents to move south on Tuesday through a message shared on the social media platform X.
In the immediate aftermath of the Al-Ahli explosion, Gaza’s Hamas officials swiftly attributed the “horrific massacre” to an Israeli airstrike. Israeli authorities denied any involvement, placing blame on a misfired rocket from the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad. The latter, however, rejected this claim.
On the following day, an Israeli military spokesperson maintained that there was no structural damage to surrounding buildings and no craters consistent with an airstrike near Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital. The spokesperson argued that Hamas had inflated the casualty count and that the cause of the explosion could not be determined as swiftly as Hamas claimed.
The Israeli military suggested that the size of the blast was consistent with unspent rocket fuel igniting. They emphasized that the majority of the damage resulted from the rocket’s propellant rather than the warhead itself.
Hamas’s military wing dismissed Israel’s assertions and accused them of attempting to evade responsibility for the tragic event. They pointed to Israel’s evacuation order for Al-Ahli Hospital and earlier reports of an explosion at the facility as evidence of Israel’s intent.
US President Joe Biden, during his visit to Israel, expressed support for the Israeli perspective, citing “data” from the US Defense Department that suggested Palestinian militants, rather than Israel, were responsible for the incident.
The White House later stated that they were still in the process of gathering evidence, but their “current assessment” was that Israel was not responsible for the hospital explosion. This assessment was based on the analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts, and open source information.
Islamic Jihad, one of the Palestinian militant groups involved in the attacks on Israel in early October, categorically denied Israel’s assertion that one of its rockets malfunctioned and caused the hospital explosion, labeling the claim as “false and baseless.” They contended that eyewitness testimony, video footage, and the extent of destruction pointed to an Israeli aerial bombardment as the cause.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh held the United States responsible, asserting that Washington had provided “cover for its aggression.”
On the Palestinian side, officials have pointed the finger at Israel as being responsible for what they termed a “massacre.”
Israel, for its part, denied culpability, maintaining that the explosion resulted from a failed rocket launch by Islamic Jihad. The Israel Defense Forces conducted an analysis of their operational systems, which indicated that a barrage of rockets fired by militants in Gaza passed close to the hospital at the time it was struck.
The Israeli army spokesperson clarified that there was no structural damage to nearby buildings and no craters consistent with an airstrike. They further contended that Hamas had inflated the casualty figures and that it could not be determined as swiftly as Hamas claimed what caused the blast.
The military also released an audio file and transcript, purportedly capturing a conversation between two Hamas militants discussing an Islamic Jihad rocket that misfired. However, the authenticity of this material could not be independently verified.
Hamas had not issued an immediate response to the audio recording.
It’s crucial to note that the situation is complex and still under investigation, with both sides presenting conflicting narratives about the tragic events at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital.