As dawn broke over Gaza, startling revelations concerning the events at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital have come to light, unmasking what could arguably be the most egregious disinformation campaign in recent wartime history.
However, to fully comprehend the unfolding narrative, it is crucial to understand the sequence of events.
The Gaza Health Ministry, under the control of Hamas, first reported that the hospital had been hit at 7:20 PM local time on Tuesday evening. Almost instantaneously, reports of devastation, flattened buildings, and a death toll of at least 500 from an alleged "Israeli bombing" flooded global media outlets, including prominent American news organizations such as The New York Times, ABC News, CNN, and the Associated Press.
"Breaking: At least 500 people have been killed in a strike that targeted Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the middle of Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The hospital served as a shelter for thousands of residents who fled their homes in northern Gaza."
However, it was immediately apparent that the reported details were not aligning. In my initial report, I highlighted several pieces of information suggesting that the damage was likely caused by a misfired rocket from Gaza. Shortly after publishing, video evidence surfaced, not from Israeli sources, but from a live broadcast on Al Jazeera. The footage, complete with a timestamp, inadvertently revealed that at 6:59 PM, a rocket was launched from Gaza, detonated mid-air, and subsequently fell onto the hospital grounds.
"The evidence is pretty clear now. It was a Gaza missile, aimed at Israel, killing its own people."
By early Wednesday morning, additional evidence had surfaced, including an intercepted conversation between jihadists admitting that a rocket had misfired near the hospital, causing the destruction.
"Hamas terrorists in their own voices: Listen to the conversation between Hamas operatives as they discuss the failed Islamic Jihad rocket launch on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on October 17, 2023."
While this evidence was already compelling, the daylight revealed even more shocking visuals at the hospital site.
"Full footage from TASS, no impact craters, interior spaces appear to be intact. Injuries from flying glass appear to have occurred."
Drone footage from before and after the incident corroborated these findings, showing no signs consistent with an airstrike. The hospital itself was largely unscathed, save for some shattered windows. The rocket appears to have fallen short, landing in the parking lot and igniting several vehicles. The damage seems to have been caused by a fire from the unspent rocket fuel, rather than a high-explosive bomb from the Israeli Air Force.
Moreover, the claim of 500 fatalities seems to be entirely fabricated. A more realistic estimate suggests a few dozen casualties at most, assuming the parking lot was heavily populated. As I noted in my initial report, it would have been impossible for Hamas to recover and count 500 bodies from a supposedly still-burning hospital within an hour. The claim was implausible from the outset.
This incident represents a calculated disinformation campaign that reverberated globally, echoed by major news outlets, and incited violence in multiple countries. The repercussions continue, with Western embassies and consulates under attack in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, among others.
The entire narrative was predicated on a falsehood propagated by a terrorist organization. This was not a minor distortion of facts. Hamas fabricated a story about a hospital being decimated by an Israeli Air Force bombing, which was reported uncritically by the press for hours. They then concocted a story about 500 fatalities, a figure that was also repeated by the media without verification.
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