Gaza Hospital Explosion: What We Know

After the explosion that occurred in a hospital in the Gaza Strip on October 17, there were fears that hundreds of people would be killed. It has been just over a week since the Palestinian Hamas movement carried out a terrorist attack against Israel that killed 1,400 people and prompted the country to declare war and begin bombing the area.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, blamed the explosion on an Israeli air strike.

Israel said the explosion was caused by a stray missile fired by another armed group, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which denied this claim.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden supported Israel’s position, citing “statements presented to me by the Department of Defense.”

The various claims have not been independently verified. The New York Times is evaluating the various accounts by analyzing photos, video footage and other evidence, as well as interviews at the scene.

This is what we know so far about the explosion of the National Arab Hospital in Gaza City.

What do we know about the death toll?

US intelligence agencies estimated the death toll between 100 and 300 people, according to US officials on Thursday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say what intelligence led them to that estimate and cautioned that it could change.

On the night of the explosion, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza put the death toll at 500 or more, an estimate the ministry later changed to “hundreds.” The number could not be independently confirmed, but photographs of the hospital verified by The Times and witness accounts indicated that the number was high.

Hours after the explosion, Muhammad Abu Salim, director of the nearby Shifa Hospital, said in an interview that between 150 and 200 people were killed in the attack and that about 300 others were injured. He said he did not have an official death toll due to the dire condition of many of the bodies.

The next morning, the Israeli army claimed that the death toll announced by Hamas was exaggerated. The Gaza Ministry of Health said later on Wednesday that 471 people had been killed and hundreds wounded. These numbers could not be independently confirmed.

The hospital is run by the Anglican Church and supervised by Bishop Hossam Naoum, who said that in recent days large numbers of Gazans have sought refuge there to escape Israeli air strikes. The hospital usually has 80 beds, according to the diocese’s website.

What did the American government say?

National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on Wednesday that the US government “believes that Israel is not responsible for the explosion that killed hundreds of civilians yesterday at Al-Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip.”

“Our assessment is based on available information, including intelligence, missile activity, and open source videos and images of the incident,” he added, adding that the United States was still gathering information.

Watson said intelligence information indicates that some Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip believe the explosion may have been caused by an irregular launch of a missile or missile by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement. He added that the gunmen are still investigating what happened. He added: “We are continuing to work to confirm whether the explosion was caused by the failure of a missile from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.”

US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said early intelligence, including infrared satellite data, suggested a rocket or rocket was launched from Palestinian combat positions in Gaza. They cautioned that the analysis was preliminary.

A senior Defense Department official said that based on data collected by infrared sensors, the United States was “pretty sure” the launch did not come from Israeli forces.

What did the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement say?

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose members participated in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, denied that an errant missile from its arsenal caused the explosion.

In an interview with The Times on Wednesday, the group’s spokesman, Musab al-Buraim, said its ability to supply weapons was “rudimentary.”

The group said in a statement issued on Tuesday that video footage and the extent of the destruction showed that the explosion was caused by an Israeli air strike.

The group’s military wing posted a message on… Telegram at 7:09 pm On the night of the explosion, in which he said he fired a barrage of rockets at Israel, a few minutes after the incident.

But the spokesperson said the timeliness of posts is not always indicative.

However, he admitted that stray rockets fired by the military wing had killed Palestinians in the past. He added: “We made mistakes, and I will not deny that.” “But not errors of this magnitude.”

What did the Israeli army say?

Citing aerial footage, photos taken after the explosion and recordings they said were from Hamas members, the Israeli military claimed on Wednesday that the explosion was caused by a failed missile fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.

Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the Israeli military, said that the Palestinian group fired 10 rockets at 6:59 p.m. on the night of the explosion, and that one of them fell to the ground prematurely, hitting the parking lot outside the hospital.

He also denied that Israel had fired any artillery shells into the hospital area at that time.

Hagari mentioned a photo of the parking lot published On social media on Wednesday morning he said it did not show the kind of impact an Israeli missile would cause. The photo shows the effects of the fire – burned cars and scorched earth – which he says was caused by rocket fuel.

He also showed an aerial photo that he said was taken from a military drone at night, and said there was no evidence of a crater there either. (U.S. officials said that U.S. intelligence agencies estimated there was only minor structural damage to the buildings and that there were no holes in the hospital.)

A freelance videographer for The Times visited the site the day after the explosion and filmed footage showing a small crater from the impact. Other photos show the same thing, including an Israeli army aerial photo. It is not yet clear whether the crater is related to the explosion and whether any conclusions can be drawn from it.

Admiral Hajari rejected suggestions that the strike was caused by an error in an Israeli air defense intercept. He stated that Israel does not fire air defense missiles into the airspace of Gaza.

The admiral played a recording of what he said was a wiretapped conversation between two Hamas members, with one interlocutor saying the damage was caused by a rocket fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad from a cemetery near the hospital. The Times is evaluating the material and has not verified the conversation.

What did Hamas say?

Hamas said in a statement that the explosion was a “horrific massacre” and a “crime of genocide” caused by an Israeli air strike.

Al Ahli Arab Hospital had already been subjected to missile strikes on October 14, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health and video footage verified by The Times. The Anglican Church indicated in a permit Four employees were injured in that explosion.

Yousef Abu Al-Rish, a senior official in the Gaza Ministry of Health, said in a press conference on Tuesday evening that the Israeli army contacted the hospital director and told him that the previous explosion was a warning for them to evacuate.

On Wednesday, Archbishop Noam stated that the Israeli military had called and texted hospital administration at least three times in recent days, demanding that patients and staff leave the hospital.

Archbishop Naoum stated that the warnings specifically referred to the hospital and were not part of a broader campaign by Israel to encourage civilians to leave northern Gaza and head to the south of the Strip.

“There were specific warnings to leave the building,” the archbishop said.

Lieutenant Colonel Amnon Scheffler, an IDF spokesman, said the calls to the hospital were part of a broader campaign to urge civilians to leave northern Gaza ahead of an expected Israeli invasion. Colonel Schaeffler stated that the hospital was not a military target.

Emma Popoola, Iyad Abu Huwaila, Aaron Puckerman, Patrick Kingsley, Christoph Koettl, Haley Willis, Sweet pleasure And Peter Baker They cooperated with the reports.