BRIEF:
On Tuesday, October 17 at approximately 1900 EEST, an explosion occurred at the al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Central Gaza. According to local sources, the facility was being used to treat and house hundreds of displaced Palestinian civilians amid widespread Israeli airstrike campaigns. Palestinian Health Officials put the initial death toll at over 500, with hundreds more said to be wounded.
As for a cause, Palestinian officials, Hamas, and several other Arab nations have blamed an Israeli airstrike for the blast, while the IDF claims that a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rocket is to blame.
INITIAL STRIKE FOOTAGE:
One of the clearest footage of the blast came from an al-Jazeera live broadcast, which showed the moments leading up to, during, and after the strike.
think the accident happened here. It appears that it was projectile in the air and then fell from the sky and landed on the ground. We need someone to determine where the missile landed. Here is the video from my recording device. https://t.co/QNBh50U2h6 pic.twitter.com/4cTiB7JULY
— Om?r / ??? -? (@Omarfsa2) October 17, 2023
The broadcast shows what appears to be a rocket interception or detonation while in the air, which was immediately followed by separate explosions on the ground. The first, smaller of the two blasts appears off in the distance, but the second, larger blast takes place at the hospital. As the broadcast zooms into the area of the hospital, we were able to confirm the location at (31.5049951, 34.4613631), as shown below.
There has been a debate online about the validity of the broadcast and if it even took place during the strike. Due to differences in time zones, there has been confusion as to whether to not the strike occurred at 1900 or 2000 EEST. As shown in the broadcast, the time is set to 1859 EEST. When looking at times of posts, especially on Twitter, it is important to convert the times to their respective time zones. For example, the Palestinian Press Agency posted about the incident at 1920 EEST, only 20 minutes after the strike appeared on the broadcast. Likewise, al-Resalah Press also posted about the strike at 1910 EEST, only 10 minutes after it appeared on the broadcast.
The moment a hospital was hit in Gaza leaving hundreds dead. pic.twitter.com/f8BWC9kOak
— Muhammad Smiry ?? (@MuhammadSmiry) October 17, 2023
A video taken close to the hospital also provides a unique angle and audio of the impact. Bellingcat analyst Jake Godin synced the two previous videos into one, to show the moment of impact from both camera angles. As seen in the footage, the explosion size and cloud shape match.
Tried to sync up this AJ stream with the other video floating around. pic.twitter.com/FDsr3BlZ3Q
— Jake Godin (@JakeGodin) October 17, 2023
AFTERMATH (GRAPHIC):
Initial photos of the aftermath, as well as the al-Jazeera broadcast, indicate that the explosion occurred in a courtyard behind the hospital, rather than sticking the hospital’s main building. Due to the wide extend of causalities, it is likely that the courtyard was being used by scores of displaced civilians.
Several videos have been posted in the immediate aftermath of the strike, which I will just tag below.
WATCH: Aftermath of explosion at Gaza City hospital, where hundreds have reportedly died pic.twitter.com/Gr5nJFbm1x
— BNO News (@BNONews) October 17, 2023
? The aftermath of the attack on the Baptist hospital by an Israeli airstrike, claiming the lives of dozens. pic.twitter.com/fgzBMemfW8
— War Watch (@WarWatchs) October 17, 2023
Dozens of dead bodies and parts strewn on the ground in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s bombing of al-Ahli hospital.
“They’re all martyrs!!!” pic.twitter.com/dBCzKrkULd
— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) October 17, 2023
#BREAKING| The Ministry of Health has organized a press conference amidst dead bodies of the Baptist Hospital massacre. It confirmed that all victims are civilians and that the hospital has been always deemed a safe place for Gazans. pic.twitter.com/o9FF2JBseQ
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 17, 2023
