I’m sorry, but I can’t assist with that.
War in the Middle EastfileA strike targeting a “terrorist command center”, according to the Israeli army, sparked a violent fire in a refugee camp in the courtyard of a hospital in Deir al-Balah and reportedly left four people dead. The images from the scene, authenticated by “CheckNews”, are unbearable.
Be careful, the descriptions that follow may be offensive.
Since the early hours of Monday, October 14, several videos have been circulating on social networks showing what appears to be a person burning alive in a fire. In some images, we can see from a distance a head and an arm curling up in the middle of a blaze. “People are burning in front of us,” shouts the author of the images, in tears. Other videos and photos, in closer view, show the same person on his back, both hands in the air and devoured by the flames. The images are presented as following an Israeli strike, in the courtyard of a hospital located in the “humanitarian zone” from Gaza where there were refugee tents. The scene, authenticated by CheckNews, is very real. It was filmed by at least four people.
The strike, which the IDF recognizes, took place in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip. The hospital and the shooting site are in the “humanitarian zone” decreed by the Israeli army. This same area was bombed several times by the IDF last week or during the summer.
Geolocated while still developing: Reported big fire and explosions following Israeli strike on the internally displaced people’s camp in the parking lot of Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital, Deir Al Balah.
31.420547, 34.359083
The hospital is in the humanitarian safe zone’s Block 128. pic.twitter.com/SFr7FXrwTx
— Shandeer (@shandeer_pal) October 14, 2024
Images filmed after the fire show the courtyard scattered with partly burned makeshift shelters.
4 martyrs and dozens of injuries after targeting the tents of the displaced in Al-Aqsa Hospital at dawn today 💔😭 pic.twitter.com/YNZjugjZrh
– Abdullah Al-Attar (@abdallahatar) October 14, 2024
CheckNews has chosen not to share the numerous images filmed during the fire.
A first video, filmed by photographer Abdallah Alattar, obviously just after the strike, shows a woman and a man extricating themselves from the flames. Their clothes and hair are on fire. On the ground, we see a third person (a “young man”, according to photojournalist Hani Abu Rezeq who filmed the scene), apparently stuck or injured, who distinctly moves her arm. According to image comparisons carried out by CheckNews on three different shots and filmed on site by photojournalists Hani Abu Rezeq, Omar Aldirawi and Abdallah Alattar, this would be the person we see being burned alive, later, in the close-ups circulating on social networks .
In these sequences, many Palestinians try to help him, in particular by approaching behind blankets or by trying to put out the flames around him with fire extinguishers. But none managed to approach. Many injured people are also visible in different videos. The Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, reported this Monday morning that 4 people had died and 40 were injured in the strike.
Some commentators believed they saw a tube connected intravenously in the arm of the victim burned alive, presented as “a patient”. But the different images consulted by CheckNews show that it is more likely a cable or wire, which is not connected to the person’s arm.
IDF claims responsibility for strike
A witness interviewed by the Washington Post, photojournalist Ahmed al-Ras reports that the strike triggered the explosion of gas canisters: “The fire spread very quickly and burned all the tents. I saw three people burned, dozens injured and hundreds of families running and screaming looking for their children.” Still according to the latter, it took the Palestinian Civil Defense team approximately 40 minutes to put out the flames. A video filmed at the scene by Omar Aldirawi also shows a man removing two gas canisters as the flames approached.
Asked by CheckNews, the Israeli army claims responsibility for the strike and explains having “carried out a precise strike against terrorists who were operating in a command and control center in the area of a parking lot adjacent to Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah.” The IDF acknowledges the fire, but rejects responsibility: “Shortly after the strike, a fire broke out in the hospital parking lot probably due to secondary explosions.” Understand: flammable substances other than those contained in the ammunition used. Several detonations can be heard during the fire and several explosions can be seen, without it being possible to determine whether these are caused by gas canisters or weapons that may have been targeted.
The moment the occupation aircraft targeted the tents of the displaced in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/JxHYocA79o
– Palestinian Information Center (@PalinfoAr) October 13, 2024
The Israeli army adds that “The incident is under investigation. The hospital and its operations were not affected by the strike. An affirmation that CheckNews is not able to verify.
Large completely charred area
Images filmed during and after the fire, particularly the next day, show a large area – where refugee tents were located – completely charred. “The Israeli military takes numerous measures to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.”
On May 26, Israel struck a refugee camp in Rafah, killing more than 40 people, again partly due to a fire sparked by secondary explosions, according to the Israeli army. The IDF, which explained that it had targeted two Hamas officials, had mentioned the presence of munitions or fuel of which it was unaware. Journalistic investigations revealed that debris from gas cylinders had been found in the rubblewithout it being possible to establish a certain link with the deadly explosion. Regarding the hypothesis of an explosion caused by munitions put forward by the IDF, munitions consultant Frederic Gras, interviewed by the New York Times at the time, called for caution and pointed out the fact that there are often gas bottles or lamps in the refugee camps and makeshift shelters where a large part of Gazans live.
