NYT Report Casts Doubt on Israeli Version of Ahli Baptist Hospital Massacre

October 25, 2023

A NYT report casts doubt on the Israeli version of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza. (Image: Screenshot)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

The New York Times said that the Israeli account of the massacre at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza on October 17, is losing credibility as new visual analyses suggest a different account. 

The Israeli army has been citing a video report by Al-Jazeera, suggesting that the video confirmed the Israeli account, that a Palestinian Resistance missile is responsible for the killing of nearly 500 Palestinians and wounding of hundreds more. 

This, however, does not seem to be the case, according to the NYT. 

“The (Al-Jazeera) footage has become a widely cited piece of evidence as Israeli and American officials have made the case that an errant Palestinian rocket malfunctioned in the sky, fell to the ground and caused a deadly explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City,” the NYT report said.

“But a detailed visual analysis by The New York Times concludes that the video clip – taken from an Al-Jazeera television camera livestreaming on the night of Oct. 17 shows something else,” the report said.

The missile shown in the video, according to the NYT, “is most likely not what caused the explosion at the hospital.”

The footage, according to the report, “suggests that Israeli bombardment was taking place and that two explosions near the hospital can be seen within two minutes of it being struck”.

On Tuesday, October 17, a massive airstrike hit the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians who were taking refuge in the hospital’s courtyard.

Initially, a top aide for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hananya Naftali, took responsibility for the attack, stating in a tweet: 

“Israeli Air Force struck a Hamas terrorist base inside a hospital in Gaza. A multiple number of terrorists are dead. It’s heartbreaking that Hamas is launching rockets from hospitals, Mosques, schools and using civilians as human shields.”

The tweet was quickly deleted, however, and a new Israeli version emerged.

In the following hours, Israel said that the mass killing of Palestinians in Al-Ahli was a result of a misfired rocket launched by the Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad.

Since then, multiple investigations have debunked the Israeli army’s claims regarding the massive explosion.

(The Palestine Chronicle)