War is not only fought with bullets and missiles. Information (and misinformation) play a fundamental role for both sides during any conflict. In the last few hours, there was an exemplary episode of how news can further aggravate a conflict, such as the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists.
The fact is that all evidence points to a rocket hitting the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night. Immediately afterwards, the terrorist organization Hamas claimed that hundreds of Palestinians, reportedly at least 500, died as a result of an attack carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). However, subsequent investigations have refuted the accusations against Israel and reinforce Israel's version of the events, which is that the explosion was the result of a rocket launched from Gaza by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists.
A failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization hit the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City.
IAF footage from the area around the hospital before and after the failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization: pic.twitter.com/AvCAkQULAf
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 18, 2023
GeoConfirmed ISR-PAL.
A missile launched by Palestinian Groups exploded mid-air and one of the pieces fell on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital's yard.
31.504822, 34.46169
Before reacting READ our thread.https://t.co/qbpUGQk89o
1/X
— GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) October 17, 2023
Israel points out that there was no structural damage
This Wednesday, shortly before Joe Biden's visit to Israel, the Israeli military's chief spokesman, Daniel Hagari, declared that an investigation had "confirmed that there was no IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) fire from the land, sea or air that hit the hospital." According to Hagari, there was no structural damage to the buildings surrounding Al-Ahli hospital nor craters consistent with an airstrike.
Hagari's statements were accompanied by investigations carried out by independent analysts. The latter provided images of the site of the explosion, and it is clearly seen that the most affected area was the hospital parking lot and not the building itself.
And we now have footage of the (partially) burnt-out parking lot at the Ahli Hospital in Gaza.
Overall damage to the structures in the complex appears to be limited, a clay-tiled awning adjacent to the parking lot is still mostly intact. pic.twitter.com/Tf0EAUJLR5
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 18, 2023
🧵Now that day has broken, and we're getting better evidence, I'm willing to share some PRELIMINARY thoughts on the al-Ahli hospital explosion. The photos of the scene are, to me, not consistent with an airstrike and are not consistent with claims that 500+ people were killed. pic.twitter.com/dzA3Bx71hr
— Nathan Ruser (@Nrg8000) October 18, 2023
Added to these investigations was the leak of audio recordings where two alleged terrorists acknowledge that the rocket was fired by PIJ from a nearby cemetery.
Attached is a recording of a conversation between Hamas operatives regarding the Islamic Jihad failed rocket launch on the hospital on October 17, 2023: pic.twitter.com/mjsBPerDMe
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) October 18, 2023
Information warfare is dangerous as is, even more so in the hands of terrorist organizations. This is how Hamas lies and why: pic.twitter.com/JYqi1YO1yZ
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 18, 2023
The mainstream media accepted the terrorists' version
Despite this evidence, the mainstream media was quick to accept the terrorists' version of the events. As soon as the explosion occurred at the hospital, the media attributed the event to an alleged attack by the Israeli army, leaving at least 500 dead. How is it possible to carry out an express count of half a thousand victims? Be that as it may, these media outlets did not fulfill their commitment to the truth nor the most basic journalistic standards of fact checking.
Media outlets around the globe were quick to run Hamas’ headlines—without fact checking.
We now know that an Islamic Jihad rocket aimed at Israel misfired and hit the hospital in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/DzJgsbxS4i
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2023
Joe Biden backs Israel's narrative: 'The other team' did it
After landing in Israel on Wednesday, President Joe Biden expressed his support for the Israeli investigations into the Gaza hospital incident during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday, and based on what I’ve seen, it appears it was done by the other team, and not you.
Biden's statements came at a time when videos continue to appear that reinforce Israel's version. The Russian agency Tass published the following images of the hospital parking lot. No craters or structural damage to the medical facility can be seen, as the Israeli military spokesman said.
Full footage from TASS, no impact craters, interior spaces appear to be intact. Injuries from flying glass appear to have occurred. pic.twitter.com/XCP8mG5YGx
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 18, 2023
Independent analysts confirm Israel's version of events
In the hours following the attack, numerous analysts supported the Israeli version of the hospital explosion. Several experts point to the fact that the images taken at the site show a shallow crater in the hospital's outdoor parking lot and no significant damage to the hospital complex buildings. "Still not conclusive, but IF this is the extent of the damage then I’d say an airstrike looks less likely than a rocket failure causing an explosion and fuel fire," said Justin Bronk, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The experts also noted that there are inconsistencies between the death toll the Palestinians say the blast caused and what the evidence shows.
Blake Spendley, an independent intelligence analyst, was among those who said that images from the scene of the attack showed around 50 dead at the scene, a number considerably lower than the 500 initially reported by Hamas.
In this regard, according to Reuters, an unclassified U.S. intelligence report states that the death toll after the explosion at the health center is between 100 and 300 people. It further states that Israel was not to blame for the tragic event. "We judge that Israel was not responsible ," the report reviewed by Reuters states. “Our assessment is based on available reporting, including intelligence, missile activity, and open-source video and images of the incident.”. The document, furthermore, says the hospital did not suffer major structural damage.
The U.S. continues to concur with analysis supporting the idea that the blast was caused by Islamic Jihad.
"Our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza," said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.
While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday.
— Adrienne Watson (@NSC_Spox) October 18, 2023
France and UK confirm that the rocket was launched from Gaza
As the days go by, international intelligence services continue to confirm the Israeli version of what happened at the Al Ahli Hospital. On Friday, October 20, the French military intelligence services DRM stated that the most likely hypothesis explaining the explosion is that a 10-pound Palestinian rocket broke up midair and hit the hospital.
The United Kingdom agreed that was most likely the case on Monday, October 23. The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said that his country's investigation reached the same conclusion. It would appear that the explosion was caused by a missile fired from the strip.
Even the New York Times was forced to rectify the situation
On the same day, Monday, October 23 (a week after the event), the New York Times was forced by the evidence to publish an editorial acknowledging its biased reporting. After initially attributing the explosion at Al Ahli hospital to the Israeli armed forces, the new note admits, albeit in a condescending tone, that the media favored the version given by Hamas terrorists.
The New York Times published on all its platforms, web and social networks that the explosion at Gaza's Al Ahli hospital was the result of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attack. FAKE NEWS.
