Witnesses Describe the Horror of Gaza Hospital Camp Strike: "People Were Burning"
Eyewitnesses have shared with the BBC their terrifying experiences following an Israeli airstrike that ignited a blaze at a tent camp within a Gaza hospital compound. The tragic incident left several people dead and many more wounded, mostly women and children, as the flames consumed makeshift shelters for displaced individuals.
A mother described the scene as “the worst thing we’ve ever seen,” while a young girl, injured in the fire, recounted the screams of people desperately tearing down their tent to escape. A man admitted he “broke down” in despair, feeling powerless as others perished in the fire.
The strike occurred early Monday at the al-Aqsa Hospital compound in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, at least four people lost their lives, and dozens were hurt. Video footage verified by the BBC showed harrowing scenes of a person engulfed in flames, while others frantically tried to extinguish the fire amidst screams and explosions lighting up the night.
The Israeli military stated that the airstrike was aimed at Hamas fighters operating from a command center located in the hospital’s parking lot. The resulting fire, they suggested, was likely caused by secondary explosions. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has staff at the hospital, disputed the presence of any Hamas facility and affirmed that the hospital was functioning solely as a medical center. The UN’s humanitarian agency condemned the incident, stating that “atrocities must stop,” while a White House National Security Council spokesperson called the footage “disturbing.”
“The images of civilians burning alive are horrifying,” said the spokesperson, reiterating that Israel must do more to protect civilians, even if Hamas is using them as shields by operating near the hospital.
According to MSF, the strike occurred at around 1:15 a.m. local time, hitting an area packed with makeshift shelters near an outdoor outpatient waiting area that was empty at the time. Hiba Radi, a mother living in a tent near the hospital, told the BBC she was awoken by the sound of “explosions and fires erupting around the tents.” The devastation left her and her family reeling, as she remarked, “We’ve never seen destruction like this before.”
Atia Darwish, a photographer who captured the aftermath, admitted he felt paralyzed by the horror unfolding in front of him, saying he could do nothing but watch as people burned. “It was a big shock. I was broken.”
Um Yaser Abdel Hamid Daher, another resident near the hospital, echoed similar fears, saying, “We’ve seen so many people burning that we started feeling like we might burn too.”
The injured included Daher’s son, his wife, and their children. Her 11-year-old granddaughter Lina, who sustained shrapnel wounds and leg injuries, told of hearing neighbors scream as they frantically tried to save each other. “Our neighbor’s daughter was injured, and her father died. Everyone was trying to get us out by tearing down the tent,” Lina recalled. The family has now lost everything, with their tent and possessions destroyed in the fire.
While the health ministry initially reported four fatalities, MSF later said five people had died, their bodies badly burned. At least 65 others were injured, 40 of whom were treated at al-Aqsa, including men, women, and children. The more severely injured were transferred to other hospitals, with some sent to a specialized burns unit.
Anna Halford, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Gaza, expressed deep concern for the survivors. “The burns are so severe that many won’t survive,” she said, describing the emotional toll of working in such conditions. “You come home with the smell of it on your clothes. It stays with you.”
This strike marks the seventh attack on the hospital since March, with three occurring in just the last two weeks. After this latest incident, survivors were seen scavenging through the wreckage, hoping to salvage anything that remained.
A mother, who had already fled from northern Gaza, now finds herself without a home once more. The UN has reiterated that there is “no safe place” in Gaza for civilians to escape the violence, as the death toll continues to climb.
