WARNING – GRAPHIC: Al-Jazeera Footage Shows Rescue Efforts Following Blast At Al-Ahli Hospital Parking Lot, Which According To Hamas Authorities Claimed 500 Casualties

On October 17, 2023, Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) aired footage of the rescue efforts in the parking lot of the Al-Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas authorities stated claimed the lives of 500 people and attributed it to an Israeli airstrike. In the area of the parking lot, dozens of Gaza residents, including medics and press, can be seen shouting, several medics can be seen evacuating stretchers covered in plastic tarp and blankets, which possibly contain casualties. The footage further includes several body bags on the ground and blood stains. Casualties are seen evacuated to what appears to be the Al-Ahli hospital, which is intact and has its lights on. According to Israel Defense Force Spokesman, the blast was a result of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket misfire from a nearby cemetery.