{"id":26602,"date":"2023-10-19T14:19:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T14:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belalcazar.org\/?p=26602"},"modified":"2023-10-19T14:19:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T14:19:01","slug":"hamas-says-airstrike-killed-500-but-pictures-from-scene-cast-doubt-on-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belalcazar.org\/world-news\/hamas-says-airstrike-killed-500-but-pictures-from-scene-cast-doubt-on-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamas says airstrike killed 500 – but pictures from scene cast doubt on claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hamas’ claims that 500 people were killed in an airstrike on a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, they blame on Israel, are not backed up by photographs take at the scene, an expert has said.<\/p>\n

Nathan Ruser shared his thoughts via X, formerly Twitter, in the aftermath of the tragedy, which Israel vehemently denies responsibilty for and has instead blamed a failed rocket allegedly fired by the\u00a0Palestinian\u00a0Islamic Jihad.<\/p>\n

And while not speculating on who was behind the attack, he cast doubt on the narrative being pushed by Gaza militants.<\/p>\n

Mr Ruser, an analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre, based his tentative conclusives on publicly available imagery and footage.<\/p>\n

In a lengthy series of posts, he said: \u201cNow that day has broken, and we’re getting better evidence, I’m willing to share some PRELIMINARY thoughts on the al-Ahli hospital explosion.<\/p>\n

READ MORE” <\/strong> I have no doubt… Islamic Jihad behind horrific blast at Gaza hospital[ANALYSIS] <\/strong><\/p>\n

Video recorded by the Channel 12 News CCTV shows rockets landing on a Gaza hospital<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe photos of the scene are, to me, not consistent with an airstrike and are not consistent with claims that 500+ people were killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emphasising that he had not conducted a \u201cforensic or expert investigation\u201d, Mr Ruser nevertheless stressed: \u201cPhotos of the aftermath show that the vast majority of the damage is from fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly three cars show any clear sign of kinnetic\/structural damage. And for two of them, the general structure remains intact – despite clear damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, within 10m of the impact site there are cars which appear mostly undamaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This lack of structural damage to most cars was also clear in IDF-released drone fotage from less than two hours after the blast, he stressed.<\/p>\n

Additionally, footage from ground level showed \u201cessentially no crater\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted damage to roofs between 30 and 45 metres away from the impact site which he said was \u201cconsistent with an object that broke apart in midair, though I wouldn’t view this point as conclusively as others\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cCompare the damage from photos of rocket impacts in Ashkelon from last weekend. The only real difference is that this explosion appears to have involved more accelerant (which would track with reporting that this barrage was aimed at Tel Aviv).\u201d<\/p>\n