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Al-Shifa ambulance airstrike

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Al-Shifa ambulance airstrike
Part of the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and Siege of Gaza City
TypeAirstrike
Location
Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza City
Date3 November 2023; 13 months ago (2023-11-03)
Executed by Israel
Casualties15 killed
60 injured

On 3 November 2023, amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and siege of Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike hit an ambulance convoy departing from al-Shifa Hospital carrying critically injured patients.[1] The strike killed 15 people and wounded dozens, according to reports,[1] and the Palestine Red Crescent Society stated all 15 were civilians.[2][3]

The departure of the ambulance convoy had been announced in advance and involved the participation of the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged that it carried out the airstrike,[4] and said that Hamas militants were killed in the attack.[5] The Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas government, denied any military use of the ambulances.[6] The Washington Post examined video footage of the aftermath and found no apparent militants (people holding weapons or dressed in military garb) in the video. The airstrike was condemned by the World Health Organization.

Background

Al-Shifa Hospital is the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip.[7] Prior to this attack and since the start of the war, Israel had attacked 7 other PRCS ambulances, and killed 4 of its personnel, the organization said.[8] [9]

On Monday 16 October 2023, Israel ordered Al Shifa Hospital, and the rest of northern Gaza, to evacuate. Because of insufficient beds in the southern Gaza Strip and no means of transporting patients, such as newborns in incubators or patients on ventilators, the evacuation orders were widely regarded as impossible to comply with.[10]

On Friday 27 October 2023, Israel accused Hamas of using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as human shields.[11] The IDF alleged that Hamas's command headquarters lay beneath Al Shifa Hospital, connected to weapons caches and other military infrastructure through an extensive underground tunnel network.[7][12] Hamas has a documented history–predating the 2023 Israel-Hamas War–of using schools, hospitals, and other civilian objects to shield itself from Israeli airstrikes.[12]

On 1 November 2023, it was announced that the Rafah Border Crossing would be open for limited evacuations of foreign passport holders and critically wounded patients.[13] According to a senior U.S. administration official, the negotiations surrounding the reopening of the border crossing were complicated by Hamas's desire to included wounded fighters in the list of evacuees.[14] Hamas indicated a willingness to allow foreign nationals to leave Gaza so long as certain wounded Palestinians could also leave.[14] Approximately one-third of the initial list of proposed evacuees provided by Hamas consisted of wounded Hamas fighters.[14] The United States, Egypt, and Israel rejected the notion of allowing wounded fighters to exit through Egypt.[14]

On Thursday 2 November 2023, the IDF encircled Gaza City in the context of the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.[15][16]

Attack

The Israeli airstrike came as an ambulance convoy departing from al-Shifa Hospital carrying 15-20 critically injured patients.[1][17][18] The convoy had been bound for the recently reopened Rafah crossing with Egypt when it came under attack.[1][17][18] The convoy was attacked at multiple locations, including outside of the hospital gate and at Ansar Square.[17][18] The strike killed 15 civilians, according to the PRCS.[2][3] Gazan health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra stated that 15 people had been killed and 60 wounded.[19]

Following the strike, graphic footage emerged on social media of about a dozen people lying prone amid pools of blood, as people rushed to help.[17] Also at the scene was a dead horse tied to a cart, as well as a blood-splattered Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance.[20] Palestinian health authorities had announced the departure of the ambulance convoy in advance.[17] Al-Qudra stated: "We informed the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, we informed the whole world, that those victims were lined up in those ambulances. This was a medical convoy."[1] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed to CNN that they received a request to escort the convoy, but said that it was ultimately not part of the convoy.[7]

The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that one of its ambulances was hit, though its staff were unharmed. However, a spokesperson noted that the area of the strike was hit was "extremely crowded" with civilians at the time.[1]

The hospital director stated that the names of the injured in the ambulance convoy were on a list of authorized evacuees, and Egypt's health ministry that only 17 of the anticipated 28 injured evacuees passed into Egypt on 3 November 2023 as a result of the airstrike.[21][22]

Confirmation by Israel

The Israeli military confirmed the strike, stating its assessment that one of the ambulances was being used by a "Hamas terrorist cell", and was close to their position.[17] The Israeli military stated that Hamas fighters were killed in the strike.[1][17] The military provided no evidence for its claims,[23] but stated on 3 November 2023 that it intended to publish additional details about the airstrike and that it had already shared intelligence with cooperating agencies,[24][25] while adding that Hamas commonly used ambulances to move fighters and weapons. Hamas denied both.[26] The Washington Post reported that video of the aftermath "showed women and children among the casualties, and no weapons or individuals wearing military clothing could be seen".[27]

While Israel stated that it only targeted one ambulance, the Palestinian Red Crescent contradicted this, saying Israel had targeted multiple different ambulances.[8]

Reactions

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that he was, "utterly shocked by reports of attacks on ambulances evacuating patients close to Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, leading to deaths, injuries and damage."[1][20] UN chief Antonio Guterres stated he was "horrified" by the attack.[28] Yanis Varoufakis wrote, "Even if the ambulance was carrying a Hamas overlord, bombing it violates the Geneva Convention."[29][undue weight? – discuss]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Several killed in Israeli attack on ambulance convoy: Gaza health ministry". Al Jazeera. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Palestinian Red Crescent says 15 killed in strike on ambulance convoy". BBC News. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Palestinian Red Crescent condemns Israeli strike on Gaza ambulance convoy".
  4. ^ Fabian, Emanuel (3 November 2023). "IDF says it carried out airstrike on ambulance being used by Hamas cell in northern Gaza". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  5. ^ Morris, Loveday; Dadouch, Sarah; Kelly, Meg; Hill, Evan (3 November 2023). "Israel launches deadly strike on ambulance outside hospital in Gaza". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Gaza's Health Ministry denies Israeli claim of Hamas using ambulances after Tel Aviv airstrike". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Carey, Andrew; John, Tara; Flower, Kevin (4 November 2023). "Israel admits airstrike on ambulance near hospital that witnesses say killed and wounded dozens". CNN. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Palestine Red Crescent labels Israel bombing near Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital a 'war crime'". www.jurist.org. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  9. ^ "https://twitter.com/PalestineRCS/status/1720579687682838812". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 7 November 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  10. ^ Abdulrahim, Raja (15 October 2023). "Gaza's Hospitals Face 'Impossible' Choices With Israel Evacuation Order". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  11. ^ Saul, Jonathan; Farrell, Stephen (27 October 2023). "The Hamas tunnel city beneath Gaza - a hidden frontline for Israel". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023.
  12. ^ a b Beaumont, Peter (30 October 2023). "What is a human shield and how has Hamas been accused of using them?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023.
  13. ^ Beaumont, Peter (1 November 2023). "Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opens for limited evacuation". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d Lebowitz, Megan (3 November 2023). "White House provides insight to Rafah crossing negotiations". NBC News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  15. ^ Lieber, Dov; Cloud, David S. (2 November 2023). "Israeli Forces Cut Gaza in Two, Isolating North of Besieged Enclave". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023.
  16. ^ Michaelis, Tamar (2 November 2023). "The Israeli military has encircled Gaza City, IDF spokesman says". CNN. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g "Israel strikes ambulance near Gaza hospital, 15 reported killed". Reuters. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023.
  18. ^ a b c "New Israeli airstrikes hit Al-Shifa hospital, al-Rashid road as Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues". The New Arab.
  19. ^ Zraick, Karen; Abuheweila, Iyad (3 November 2023). "Many are killed near a Gaza hospital, its chief says, in a strike the Israelis say was aimed at Hamas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023.
  20. ^ a b "WHO chief 'shocked' by Israeli strike on Gaza ambulance". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023 – via France 24.
  21. ^ "Red Crescent says 15 killed in strike on Gaza ambulance outside Al-Shifa hospital". BBC News. 4 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  22. ^ Al-Mughrabi, Nidal (4 November 2023). "U.N. and medical agencies condemn Israel's Gaza ambulance strike". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  23. ^ Al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Lewis, Simon; Alkousaa, Riham; Al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Alkousaa, Riham (3 November 2023). "Israel strikes Gaza ambulance; Netanyahu rejects halt without hostage release". Reuters. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  24. ^ "Israeli army confirms ambulance attack". EFE. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  25. ^ Da Silva, Chantal (4 November 2023). "Israel says it hit an ambulance used by Hamas. Gaza officials say it was carrying the wounded". NBC News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  26. ^ Al-Mughrabi, Nidal (4 November 2023). "U.N. and medical agencies condemn Israel's Gaza ambulance strike". Reuters. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  27. ^ Morris, Loveday; Dadouch, Sarah; Kelly, Meg; Hill, Evan (3 November 2023). "Israel launches deadly strike on ambulance outside hospital in Gaza". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  28. ^ "UN secretary-general 'horrified' by Israel's attack on ambulances". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Even if the ambulance was carrying a Hamas overlord, bombing it violates the Geneva Convention". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
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