13 people died in explosion outside Al-Shifa hospital – Hamas officials

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that an Israeli attack on an ambulance near Gaza City’s main hospital has caused the death of at least 15 people.

BBC Verify has confirmed that there are videos available which show severely injured and potentially deceased individuals lying outside the Al-Shifa hospital.

The Israeli army has said it hit a hospital vehicle which they believe was being used by Hamas members.

It didn’t mention where the air strike happened.

“Aircraft from the IDF attacked an ambulance that was recognized by forces as being used by a group of terrorists from Hamas, who were very near to where our troops were fighting,” the statement explained.

It was mentioned that some Hamas fighters were killed. They also claimed that Hamas was using ambulances to secretly transport militants and weapons. However, no proof of this has been provided yet.

We want to make it clear that this area is a place where battles are happening. People who live in the area are being told over and over again to go to the south to stay safe.

Before, the health ministry ran by Hamas stated that 13 individuals lost their lives in an explosion near Al-Shifa.

BBC Verify watched three videos – one of them was very shocking – and found out that they were recorded outside the hospital and were posted online on Friday afternoon.

In a video, there were people lying in pools of blood on the road near vehicles. Some of them were badly hurt, while others were not moving.

We haven’t seen any hole or wreckage in the videos we have watched. The front of an ambulance is broken, and some cars on the road have windows that are broken.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that a convoy carrying patients to the Al-Shifa hospital was hit two times. The first time was about 1 km (0. 62 miles) away from the hospital, and the second time was outside the hospital gate where they were trying to unload the patients.

A statement from the Hamas government said that Israeli forces attacked a group of ambulances that were taking injured people from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City to Rafah in the south.

Egypt’s health ministry said that only 17 injured Palestinians were taken to Egyptian hospitals on Friday instead of the originally planned 28. This change happened because of the “events” at Al-Shifa.

The leader of the World Health Organization said he was very surprised and upset by the big explosion at Al-Shifa.

Let us emphasize again: we must always keep patients, health workers, facilities, and ambulances safe. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus always posted on X.

Bisan Owda, a filmmaker from Palestine, was close by when the attack occurred.

“Some people had their legs and hands taken away, and others had injuries that needed help to be carried,” she explained to the BBC. People were sad and looking for one another.

Besides the sick people at Al-Shifa, there are also thousands of others who are hiding from the bombings by Israel.

Ms Owda said that there were a lot of people who couldn’t find a place to stay inside the hospital, so they had to sleep on the streets close by.

The Israeli military says that there is a big Hamas headquarters located under the hospital.

In another event in Gaza City on Friday, people in charge of health in Gaza said that a lot of people were killed and injured in an attack by Israel on a school where hundreds of people were seeking refuge. Israel has not said anything yet.

Israel started bombing Gaza because Hamas killed over 1,400 people in Israel and abducted more than 240 people.

They have also started a ground attack and announced on Thursday that their troops have surrounded Gaza City.

Israel has told people to go to the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Many people have left Gaza City and the northern areas. However, a lot of people still live in the northern part of Gaza.

Israeli planes are still attacking a place called the southern Gaza Strip. Israel had told people from Gaza to go there for safety. But now it’s too crowded and not safe, so some people are going back to their homes in the north of Gaza.

The health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, reported that over 9,000 individuals have died in the Gaza Strip since October 7th.