On Tuesday evening, Israeli missiles rained down on thousands of Palestinians taking shelter in Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City.
Al-Ahli is one of the largest Palestinian medical centers in the Gaza Strip.
Like other hospitals and clinics in Gaza, Al-Ahli was already running short on fuel, medicine, and space for the thousands of wounded who fell under the weight of their homes, following Israeli bombardment.
Israel bombed the Ahly hospital in Gaza, which hosted thousands of fleeing civilians, killing at least 200 Palestinians. Image: PC
Established over a century ago, Al-Ahli Hospital is the second oldest hospital in the Gaza Strip. Sources say that the hospital was established in 1882.
READ: What is Al-Ahli Hospital that Israel has Just Bombed in Gaza? – EXPLAINER
The attack came as a shock, even though over 3,000 Palestinians were killed in Gaza starting on October 7.
The shock was a result of the fact that Israel, some thought, could not, or, rather would not go as far as killing hundreds of people sheltered inside a hospital.
Another reason behind the false sense of safety among those civilians sheltered inside the hospital, is that Al-Ahli, formerly known as Al-Mamadani is largely funded and managed by the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem.
Sadly, they were wrong.
“This is madness, this doesn’t happen in war,” a spokesman for Al-Shifa Hospital told Aljazeera, following a bombing by Israeli warplanes of a Christian hospital in Gaza.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) October 17, 2023
OUR EXPLAINER: https://t.co/oeeJXa7xKZ pic.twitter.com/A0Y6AOQZVn
Israeli Reaction
But how did Israel react to its crime, considered one of the worst in the history of its wars against the besieged, impoverished and overcrowded Strip?
So far, two different positions have been declared by the Israeli government.
At precisely 9:37 pm, Palestine time, Aljazeera Arabic live blog, citing Israeli military spokesman, wrote:
“ISRAELI ARMY SPOKESMAN: “We had warned to evacuate the Baptist Hospital (Al-Ahli) and 5 other hospitals so that Hamas would not take them as a refuge.”
This statement was indeed consistent with other statements made by Al-Ahli hospital administration following the massacre. It said that they had been threatened that if they did not evacuate the hospital, the hospital would be bombed.
Evacuating, however, was simply impossible. Not only because hospitals should not be bombed under any circumstance, but because there was nowhere else to go for those thousands of patients and their families.
Another reason is that most major hospitals, including the Al-Shifa Medical Center, were also warned by the Israeli military to evacuate.
Israel bombed the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, which hosted thousands of fleeing civilians, killing at least 500 Palestinians. Photo: Supplied
“This is madness, this doesn’t happen in war,” a spokesman for Palestinian hospitals told Aljazeera, following a bombing by Israeli warplanes of a Christian hospital in Gaza.
READ: What We Know about the Israeli Massacre at the Christian Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza
When the news of the massacre began circulating, and gruesome images of mutilated bodies of children and civilians began appearing on TV channels and social media platforms, the Israeli position began shifting.
The Chinese news agency, Xinhua, reported that the Israeli military had changed its story.
“The Israeli military said that the killing of hundreds of people at a hospital in the Gaza Strip (…) was caused by a failed rocket launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group in Gaza,” Xinhua reported.
Israel bombed the Ahly hospital in Gaza, which hosted thousands of fleeing civilians, killing at least 200 Palestinians. Photo: Supplied
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in a single strike at a Palestinian hospital in Gaza City. The massacre is already described as the worst in the history of Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza, The Palestine Chronicle will keep you updated.
Deconstructing the Lie
But this cannot possibly be the case, for several reasons:
First, no one in the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza has bombs with this kind of destructive capabilities.
Second, the Israeli military had already made it clear, in its initial statement, that it was the party behind the mass killing.
Third, Israel had in fact already bombed that same hospital, only a few days earlier, specifically on Saturday, October 14. The bombing then resulted in infrastructural damage.
Fourth, Israel has bombed other hospitals as well, including Al-Dura hospital and the Indonesian hospital, among others.
Al-Ahli Arab Hospital has been hit with a direct Israeli military strike. Photo: Supplied
Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, one of the main medical facilities in Gaza City, has been hit with a direct Israeli military strike, first Al-Aqsa satellite channel, then Arab and international media reported.
READ: Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza Hit with Direct Israeli Strike – PHOTOS & VIDEO
Fifth, soon before the massacre, Israeli aircraft also carried out a strike against a UNRWA-run school, sheltering civilians, in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killing and wounding dozens.
And finally, and perhaps even more important, is the fact that the Israeli army continued bombing hospitals, even following the news of the great massacre.
One of these hospitals was the European Hospital in Gaza.
“Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that the Israeli occupation forces bombed the vicinity of the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip,” Aljazeera Live Blog reported.
Source: The Palestine Chronicle. 18 Oct 2023