Fighters in Gaza launched a barrage of rockets toward Israel and in the direction of al-Ahli Hospital 44 seconds before an explosion there that killed at least 100 people, according to a visual analysis by The Washington Post.
Video obtained from Israeli television channel Keshet 12 News allowed The Post to geolocate the origin of the barrage to a point southwest of the hospital in Gaza City, matching the rough location the Israeli military has alleged was the launch site of a misfired rocket that it said landed on the hospital grounds. Experts said rockets from that barrage would have been able to reach the hospital in time for the explosion.
We contacted 20 think tanks, universities and companies with weapons expertise. Nine of them are yet to respond, five would not comment, but we spoke to experts at the remaining six.
We asked whether the available evidence - including the size of the explosion and the sounds heard beforehand - could be used to determine the cause of the hospital blast.
So far, the findings are inconclusive. Three experts we spoke to say it is not consistent with what you would expect from a typical Israeli air strike with a large munition.
J Andres Gannon, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, in the US, says the ground explosions appeared to be small, meaning that the heat generated from the impact may have been caused by leftover rocket fuel rather than an explosion from a warhead.
Justin Bronk, senior research fellow at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute, agrees. While it is difficult to be sure at such an early stage, he says, the evidence looks like the explosion was caused by a failed rocket section hitting the car park and causing a fuel and propellant fire.
Mr Gannon says it is not possible to determine whether the projectile struck its intended target from the footage he has seen. He adds that the flashes in the sky likely indicate the projectile was a rocket with an engine that overheated and stopped working.
US President Joe Biden voiced support for the Israeli position, telling reporters that “data” from the US Defense Department backed his assertion that Palestinian militants, not Israel, were to blame.
“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,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on social media.
One of the photographers on the ground is Mohamed Saber, who distributed through the EFE agency one of the first images of the crater caused by the projectile that hit the Al Ahli parking lot. The hole, shallow and approximately three feet in diameter, forms an impact cone that goes from northeast to southwest. According to several experts, including U.S. military advisor Marc Garlasco, an expert in the investigation of war crimes, what hit the floor of the parking lot did not come from an airstrike. “Even the smallest JDAM [guided missile] causes a 3m [10-foot] crater,” Garlasco tweeted.
The United Kingdom echoes this conclusion, reports Rafa de Miguel: “On the basis of the deep knowledge and analysis of our intelligence and our weapons experts,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons on Monday, “the British government judges that the explosion was likely caused by a missile, or part of one, that was launched from within Gaza towards Israel.”
The French investigations coincide with London and Washington. As reported by Agence France-Presse, the analysis carried out in Paris was even able to quantify the explosive charge that impacted the hospital at around five kilograms.
And even more to read here by following the references on the Wikipedia article:
All taken from Israeli sources and reporters on the ground after Israel took control and at the leisure of Israeli access and information control which it also states in your article.
Yes your article includes contractory information and again noted it’s inconclusive.
The sources also include photos of the site, the crater, and the type of damage. Photos of the hospital and surrounding areas in the aftermath shared by independent journalists.
Even the AP came to the same conclusion:
WHY IS AP STILL CONCLUDING A PALESTINIAN ROCKET WAS LIKELY TO BLAME?
AP’s updated analysis found that the most likely scenario is still that the medical facility was struck by a Palestinian rocket that went astray, with experts citing:
Three videos that show Palestinian militants launching multiple rockets from inside Gaza on a trajectory that would have taken them in the direction of the hospital seconds before the explosion. Damage at the scene was also not consistent with Israeli air strikes or artillery.
The only one not convinced here is you, who seems to take Hamas and Islamic Jihads word over multiple countries worth of reporters, experts, and analysts.
Yes things that require expert opinion and very thorough investigation. Not investigative journalists and Israeli meddling.
Not at all, most credible experts are withholding opinion until there’s an investigation especially given Israels track record of striking hospitals and lying about it namely one that was claimed to be a misfired rocket in prior years.
I did, they mention third party opinion from people who haven’t been there, haven’t been allowed full unfettered access and only do so at the whim of Israel and after Israel had been left alone with the scene. Nothing suspicious there.
I downvote things that are factually incorrect, you’ve not nor had Israel proven anything. They infer, imply and implicate, prove is not something isrealis do well or honestly willingly.
From the link I provided
Also
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67144061
We asked whether the available evidence - including the size of the explosion and the sounds heard beforehand - could be used to determine the cause of the hospital blast.
So far, the findings are inconclusive. Three experts we spoke to say it is not consistent with what you would expect from a typical Israeli air strike with a large munition.
J Andres Gannon, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, in the US, says the ground explosions appeared to be small, meaning that the heat generated from the impact may have been caused by leftover rocket fuel rather than an explosion from a warhead.
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231018-what-we-know-about-the-deadly-blast-at-gaza-city-s-al-ahli-hospital
https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-10-24/a-reconstruction-of-the-al-ahli-hospital-massacre-in-gaza-that-set-the-islamic-world-on-fire.html
And even more to read here by following the references on the Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ahli_Arab_Hospital_explosion#Rocket_vs_airstrike
All taken from Israeli sources and reporters on the ground after Israel took control and at the leisure of Israeli access and information control which it also states in your article.
Yes your article includes contractory information and again noted it’s inconclusive.
The sources also include photos of the site, the crater, and the type of damage. Photos of the hospital and surrounding areas in the aftermath shared by independent journalists.
Even the AP came to the same conclusion:
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-hospital-rocket-gaza-e0fa550faa4678f024797b72132452e3
The only one not convinced here is you, who seems to take Hamas and Islamic Jihads word over multiple countries worth of reporters, experts, and analysts.
Yes things that require expert opinion and very thorough investigation. Not investigative journalists and Israeli meddling.
Not at all, most credible experts are withholding opinion until there’s an investigation especially given Israels track record of striking hospitals and lying about it namely one that was claimed to be a misfired rocket in prior years.
Then you didn’t read the articles I linked. Full stop.
Have you tried actually reading instead of mindlessly commenting and down voting anything that doesn’t agree with your prejudices?
I did, they mention third party opinion from people who haven’t been there, haven’t been allowed full unfettered access and only do so at the whim of Israel and after Israel had been left alone with the scene. Nothing suspicious there.
I downvote things that are factually incorrect, you’ve not nor had Israel proven anything. They infer, imply and implicate, prove is not something isrealis do well or honestly willingly.
And there is the crux of your argument and your bias.
1500 comments on Lemmy but you add very little of value. Your existence seems to be dedicated to only wasting strangers’ time.
That’s just sad, man.
Congratulations on being the first on my block list, troll.
Facts aren’t biased, Israel gets caught lying constantly. Factual history isn’t biased it just is.
Aww neat, way to admit to stalking my profile.
Something is sad here, in that we agree but likely for different reasons.
Neat.