As Al-Aqsa Hospital Attack Burns Palestinians Alive, the UN Launches Investigation into Israel’s Alleged War Crimes Against Medical Facilities in Region

The Israeli military has struck tents sheltering displaced individuals at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, igniting a fire that has resulted in multiple fatalities and left dozens more Palestinians injured. 

In disturbing footage circulating on social media, at least one person was seen reaching out from the flames, appearing to be burned alive. 

Others fled the inferno, some carrying the injured, while bystanders rushed toward the blaze in a desperate effort to help. 

According to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, twenty-five individuals were transferred to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, suffering from severe burns.

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza Civil Defense, stated that the hospital compound had been targeted by Israel at least six times prior to this incident. 

Gaza’s Health System on the Brink After Renewed Assaults

Displaced survivors look at the destruction in the aftermath of the fire

Photo Credits: Reuters 

Surgeon Mohammad Tahir reported that medical teams are managing victims with burns covering 60 to 80 percent of their bodies, many of whom are unlikely to make a full recovery. 

“Patients with significant high percentage burns—unfortunately, their fate is sealed. They won’t even make it to the ICU. They will die,” Tahir said. “It’s a horror show here. Honestly, sometimes I feel like this is not real life, that this can go on, and this degree of suffering is allowed to happen in this world.”

 Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud noted that over 20 tents were destroyed in the hospital bombing.  

“Many people were inside the tents when the fire spread, and they could not be saved,” Mahmoud stated. “We are anticipating a significant number of deaths, as the tents are tightly packed together in a small area of the hospital courtyard.”

Since the onset of hostilities more than a year ago, Israeli forces have frequently targeted medical facilities in Gaza. In recent months, there have been multiple strikes on crowded shelters and tent encampments, with Israeli officials alleging that armed groups are operating from these sites. 

Munir al-Bursh, the director general of hospitals in Gaza, reported that Israel ordered the evacuation of three hospitals in northern Gaza last Friday amid a deteriorating offensive in the region. The United Nations estimates that 175,000 people are currently trapped there. 

A fact-finding mission created by the United Nations Human Rights Council suggested the Israeli military's attacks on hospitals in Gaza constitute “the war crimes of willful killing and mistreatment, along with the crime against humanity of extermination.” 

Last week, a United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry released a report highlighting Israel's systematic efforts to dismantle Gaza’s healthcare system. 

The Israeli airstrike on Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital occurred after Israeli tanks shelled a school in Nuseirat late Sunday, where displaced individuals were seeking refuge, resulting in at least 22 deaths and injuring 80 others. 

IDF’s ‘Precise Strikes’ Again Lead to Severe Civilian Casualties

Palestinian patients reach Rafah after evacuation from Nasser Hospital, Khan Yunis. Photo Credits: Reuters 

 In its statement, the IDF claimed it took measures to minimize civilian casualties prior to the strike, though it provided no specifics. In response to media inquiries, the IDF media desk stated that the air force executed a “precise strike” on militants operating in an area adjacent to the hospital building. 

“Shortly after the strike, a fire ignited in the hospital’s parking lot, most likely due to secondary explosions. The incident is under review,” the IDF said. 

The Israeli military acknowledged that hospitals were part of its evacuation orders, noting that no specific timeline had been set. They indicated they were working alongside local authorities to assist with the transfer of patients. 

Israel's campaign in Gaza has ravaged significant portions of the territory, displacing roughly 90 percent of its 2.3 million inhabitants, many of whom have been uprooted multiple times.