An ambulance in Gaza was bombed on November 3 by an Israeli air strike. Israeli officials admitted that they targeted the ambulance. The bombing killed 15 and wounded 60 others, according to health officials and aid workers. A Health Ministry official, Ashraf al-Qudra, stated on Friday that an Israeli attack targeted a convoy of ambulances carrying critically injured patients from Al-Shifa Hospital to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
“Those victims were lined up in those ambulances, and we told the Red Cross and Red Crescent (PRCS) and the entire world about it,” he stated.
“A medical convoy was in this.”
Four ambulances in the convoy belonged to the health ministry, while one was owned by the PRCS. The PRCS denounced the attack on the convoy.
When was the ambulance in Gaza bombed?
The convoy departed Al-Shifa Hospital at 16:05 local time, according to a statement from the PRCS. However, after traveling about 4 km, they were forced to turn back because of rocks and heavy shelling on al-Rashid, the coastal route that leads southward in Gaza. According to the PRCS, a missile “directly targeted” one of the health ministry’s ambulances at a distance of around one kilometer from Al-Shifa Hospital, injuring both the ambulance’s patient load and crew.
The main hospital in Gaza was reached by the other vehicles, but only two meters from the hospital gate, an Israeli missile struck the PRCS ambulance. According to the PRCS, the incident left 60 people injured and 15 dead.
“The deliberate targeting of medical teams constitutes a grave violation of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime”, it stated.
Palestinian photographer’s statement
According to Palestinian photographer Abdul Hakim Abu Reyash, there were many people and sellers outside al-Shifa Hospital when the airstrike occurred, which led to the deaths of “many civilians.”
The majority of the injured in the ambulances, he said, were female.
Israel’s explanation for bombing the ambulance
The Israeli military acknowledged that one of its planes had collided with an ambulance, stating that Israeli soldiers had determined it belonged to a Hamas unit near their location in the combat zone.
In a post on X, the platform that was once known as Twitter, Tedros stated, “We reiterate that patients, health workers, facilities, and ambulances must be protected at all times, always.”
With a bed occupancy rate of 164%, the largest hospital in Gaza, al-Shifa, is severely overcrowded, according to the WHO, as a result of Israel’s ongoing shelling and siege of the area.
Due to damage from bombs and fuel shortages, at least 16 hospitals in Gaza are no longer operational, according to the health ministry.
Total victims in Gaza since the war began
The WHO issued a warning on Wednesday, stating that the injured and other patients’ lives are “immediately at risk” from the fuel scarcity.
According to Palestinian sources, since Israel began bombarding Gaza on October 7, there have been over 9,200 deaths and 32,000 injuries in the region (data from November 3rd).
Following an attack on southern Israel by Hamas fighters that claimed the lives of at least 1,405 people (data from November 3rd; currently, the number is higher), the majority of whom were civilians, Israeli leaders launched an assault on Gaza.