4-11-2023 (GAZA) A recent Israeli air strike on an ambulance that was reportedly engaged in evacuating the wounded from the besieged northern Gaza Strip resulted in a tragic outcome, claiming the lives of 15 individuals and causing injuries to 60 others. The Hamas-controlled enclave’s health ministry disclosed this distressing incident on Friday.
Israel’s military, in response, has stated that the targeted ambulance was in use by a Hamas terrorist cell. According to their assertion, the strike led to the demise of Hamas fighters, and they accused the group of utilizing ambulances to transport militants and weaponry.
Hamas official Izzat El Reshiq vehemently denied the allegations of their fighters being present in the ambulance, referring to them as “baseless.” Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesperson for Gaza’s health ministry, revealed that the targeted ambulance was part of a convoy that Israel had focused on, located near Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital.
Qidra further explained that Israel had targeted the convoy of ambulances in more than one location. The attack took place at the al-Shifa Hospital gate and at Ansar Square, which is approximately a kilometer (0.6 miles) away.
The statement released by Israel’s military regarding this incident did not provide any evidence to substantiate its claim of the ambulance’s association with Hamas. Nevertheless, they expressed their intention to release additional information in due course.
“We emphasize that this area is a battle zone. Civilians in the area are repeatedly called upon to evacuate southwards for their own safety,” stated the military.
It is essential to note that Reuters, as of now, was unable to independently verify the accounts presented by either side.
Video footage, verified by Reuters, has circulated on social media, depicting distressing scenes of individuals lying in pools of blood next to an ambulance with its emergency lights flashing on a city street. Good Samaritans rushed to provide assistance to those in need. Another video showcased three ambulances parked in a line, with several individuals either lying still or moving only slightly beside them, while blood pooled in close proximity.
In response to this unfortunate event, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, expressed his profound shock through a social media post. He decried the attacks on ambulances evacuating patients and underscored the imperative need to safeguard patients, healthcare workers, and medical facilities.
Earlier on the same day, Ashraf al-Qidra announced that ambulances were to be dispatched to transfer critically injured Palestinians, in urgent need of treatment, from besieged Gaza City to Egypt, located in the southern part of the enclave.
It’s worth noting that Israel had previously accused Hamas of concealing command centers and tunnel entrances within the premises of al-Shifa Hospital. As a result, they had ordered all civilians to evacuate the northern areas of Gaza last month, with the military sealing off the region on Thursday.
Despite the directive for civilians to leave the northern parts of Gaza, Israel’s military continued its bombardment in the southern part of the strip as well. In response, both Hamas and al-Shifa hospital authorities vehemently denied the hospital’s use as a base for militant fighters.
