Zionist Lies and Crimes
Written by Shafika Husseini and Mariam Reda
Following a genocidal invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Zionist occupation forces exhibited a recurring pattern of violence, targeting hospitals and killing Palestinians with intuitive precision. This well-documented pattern has become almost a muscle memory for the reoccurring Zionist violence. The bombing of Al Ahli Baptist Hospital was one of the first attacks in this sequence of terror and destruction regarding Hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
A timeline of Zionist propaganda and terrorism
Day 11 of Genocide:
On October 17th, Hananya Naftali, the digital aide to Israel’s prime minister, tweeted “Israeli Air Force struck a Hamas terrorist base inside a hospital in Gaza. A number of terrorists are dead.”
He was one of the first people from the Zionist regime's side to credit the occupation for their targeted attack on Al Ahli Baptist Hospital.
His tweet was then deleted after public outrage surprised the Zionist regime.
The Zionist narrative quickly changed into claiming that Hamas bombed their civilians and Israeli authorities used fake videos of other incidents to say that a failed missile from Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) launched a rocket that misfired and hit the hospital. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari asserted “that it was an ‘Islamic Jihad’ rocket that had struck the hospital, citing a ‘preliminary investigation.’”
The Palestinian Islamist group rejected these claims, stressing that they were lies.
These videos are now deleted as people on X were quick to point out that the timestamp on the video was different from the time of the airstrike.
Forensic Architecture conducted a full research investigation which proved that the missile was launched from outside Gaza, near a known Israeli missile launch site that is part of its ‘Iron Dome’ air defense system. The shape of the missile’s trajectory, turning twice in mid-air, again suggested that this was a guided Israeli interceptor, rather than a Palestinian rocket that would follow the arc of a ballistic trajectory. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that over 500 Palestinians were killed alongside medical staff in one night from this Israeli airstrike on Al Ahli Baptist Hospital. This would begin the ongoing pattern for the past 8 months of the Zionist regime's blatant contradictions and propaganda. From bombing hospitals after claiming that “Hamas militants” are residing in said hospitals with little to no evidence being provided, to bombing hospitals and taking full responsibility because they know that no one will hold them accountable.
Day 28 of Genocide:
On Nov 3rd, an Israeli airstrike targeted an ambulance outside Al Shifa hospital, killed 15 Palestinians, and wounded 60 others. This marked the onset of mistrust between Palestinians and the Red Cross, as the Red Cross informed the Zionist entity about the route of this ambulance, which was transporting Palestinians to Rafah for medical treatment outside of Gaza. The Zionist entity admitted to this targeted attack claiming that it was targeting Hamas militants in the ambulance, once again, without providing any evidence. Human Rights Watch reported that there was no evidence found for these Zionist claims and condemned Israel.
Day 34 of Genocide:
On November 9th, the Zionist entity began bombing the area around Al Shifa Hospital and dropping pamphlets instructing Palestinians to evacuate, warning them of imminent bombing. This occurred just two days after Palestinian children held a press conference outside the hospital, appealing to the international community to prevent the occupation forces from attacking the hospital.
Day 36 of Genocide
Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesperson at Gaza’s Ministry of Health, reported that the Zionist entity had bombed the Al Shifa Hospital buildings five times since Thursday night, November 9th.
On the night of November 11th, electricity was completely cut off from Al Shifa Hospital and the surrounding neighborhood. At that time, Al Shifa had 1,500 patients, 700 medical workers, and approximately 15,000 displaced individuals seeking shelter.
The Zionist occupation forces began an invasion of the hospital after they released the now-deleted animation video, where they claimed a Hamas Command center underneath Al Shifa hospital. Before this invasion, it is important to note that an Israeli airstrike bombed the fifth floor of the hospital, and videos of this were shared on Instagram by Journalist Saleh Al Jaffarawei. Many Palestinians then fled the hospital only to get shot down by Israeli occupation soldiers, despite waving white flags.
Israeli army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told CNN that the hospital and compound were for Hamas “a central hub of their operations, perhaps even the beating heart and maybe even a center of gravity”. Despite the lack of evidence for these claims, the Israeli occupation forces invaded the hospital and took complete control of it. Public outrage ensued, but the aggression of the Zionist regime, supported by the genocidal Biden administration, ensured they could act with impunity and avoid accountability for their actions.
Day 40 of Genocide:
After a week of besieging the hospital, inflicting terror, and killing Palestinians seeking shelter there, as well as sniping those attempting to flee, the Zionist regime released a video titled "No Cuts. No Edits. Just the undeniable truth." The video features Zionist TS (res.) Jonathan Corricus claimed that numerous Hamas weapons were uncovered by IOF troops in the Al Shifa Hospital MR building. However, this was later revealed to be "planted evidence," as many researchers pointed out that it would be impossible to store weaponry behind an MR machine due to the machine's magnetic field.
By November 18th, most Palestinians had evacuated the hospital and only five doctors remained to take care of 200 patients.
Many Palestinian men were subjected to sexual assault by the IOF, stripped, and kidnapped by the occupation to investigate any connections with Hamas.
Day 164 of Genocide:
March 18th marks the beginning of a two-week-long siege by the Zionist occupation of Al Shifa Hospital. During this time, around 3,000 Palestinians reportedly sought shelter there. The constant attack on Al Shifa Hospital was a brutal assassination operation aimed at breaking down civil order in northern Gaza and facilitating the occupation’s project for total control over the area without resistance.
During the siege, Palestinian journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul and the entire Al Jazeera team were kidnapped from Al Shifa Hospital in the middle of the night. The surgical center was bombed, and doctors who refused to leave were killed or beaten. Eyewitness reports from Palestinians also indicated instances of rape against women.
The Israeli Occupation Forces decided to withdraw completely on the morning of April 1st. Hossam Shabar, a Palestinian journalist who remained in the North, reported that around 300 Palestinians had been executed, and hundreds of mutilated bodies were scattered around the vicinity of the hospital.
Due to limited communication with Palestinians during the siege of the hospital, several videos emerged later, showing Israeli tanks and the destruction they caused to the hospital. This repeated pattern of violence and terror caused by the Zionist occupation was referred to as a massacre by several news outlets. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor stated that "Though the exact number of casualties from the atrocity is still unknown, preliminary reports suggest that over 1,500 Palestinians have been killed, injured, or are reported missing as a result of the massacre at Al-Shifa, with women and children making up half of the casualties."
No “Hamas Command Centre” was ever found underneath Al Shifa Hospital. Only mass graves of Palestinians remained.
On November 5th, 2023, a spokesman for the Israeli Occupation Forces crafted an elaborate lie to justify premeditated attacks on one of Gaza’s largest healthcare facilities, the Indonesian Hospital in Bait Lahia.
The spokesperson alleged that Hamas is using hospitals in Gaza, such as the Indonesian Hospital, as underground control centers for their operations. According to these false claims, Hamas deliberately built the hospital over their 'terror outposts' to shield their activities. Another allegation suggested that Hamas had been stealing fuel from the Indonesian Hospital. However, these assertions were not backed by any evidence. Reuters reported that there is no verifiable proof to support these accusations, and Human Rights Watch has stated they have not been able to corroborate these claims or find any information justifying attacks on Gaza hospitals. Civilians and the hospitals dedicated to their care should never be subjected to attack, siege, or bombardment.
Despite the lack of concrete evidence, Zionist forces have besieged the Indonesian Hospital as part of their broader genocidal offensive against multiple health facilities in Gaza and other parts of occupied Palestine over six weeks from October to November. These health facilities, already strained by shortages of supplies, fuel, and other necessities due to the ongoing Zionist blockade, have suffered severe damage - a deliberate tactic by Zionists to use forced starvation and lack of medical facilities as a weapon of collective punishment against the Palestinian population.
Between October 7 and November 28, the Indonesian Hospital was struck by the IOF multiple times, resulting in the murder of at least 14 Palestinian civilians.
On the night of October 27, following a deliberate blackout of telecommunications in Gaza orchestrated by the Zionist regime, the hospital was struck again, causing significant damage. Human Rights Watch geo-located a video and photographs showing a crater in the hospital courtyard, further corroborating the reports of damage. Additionally, more than 1,500 displaced Palestinian residents sought refuge in the hospital, and an influx of patients arrived following a US-funded Zionist airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp.
The Zionist’s moral depravity escalated violence further on November 2, when the hospital's main generator ceased functioning due to a lack of fuel.
‘Israeli’ forces continued to escalate the situation by attacking the main generator at the hospital. Nurses at the hospital have recounted the horror of the IOF raid and following interrogations, describing how troops beat and humiliated them as they refused to abandon their patients.
Do you notice a pattern?
Do you notice a pattern with the deceptive tactics used by Zionists?
They instruct civilians to evacuate from one facility to another, bomb the initial facility, and then attack the facility where civilians were told to seek refuge.
This calculated and brutal strategy is designed to cluster Palestinians, increasing their chances of inflicting maximum destruction and taking innocent lives.
This vile tactic exemplifies the true nature of Zionist aggression, showing a blatant disregard for Palestinian life and a relentless pursuit of colonial dominance.
Cited Sources:
10 November 23 - Al Rantisi Hospital
11-14 November 23 – Al Shifa Hospital
"Amnesty International UK Briefing: CRISIS IN ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES 23 November 2023" (PDF). Amnesty International UK. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
3 November 23– Al Quds Hospital
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzADnf1S4Tk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cy_yZBwBj2h/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2BpISFPRWB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
20 November 23 – Indonesian Hospital
12 December 23 – Kamal Adwan Hospital
13 December 23 – Al Awda Hospital
19 January 24 – Jordan Field Hospital
21 – 28 January – Nasser Medical Complex Siege
January 24 – Al Amal Hospital
31 March 24 – Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital
Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital
Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al Thani Hospital
18 March - 1 April 24 – Al Shifa Hospital Siege
