14 October 2024 Al-Aqsa Hospital attack

On 14 October 2024, at approximately 1 a.m., the Israeli Air Force struck a tent camp housing displaced people on the grounds of Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said the area was used as a "terror command center," specifically citing a parking lot adjacent to the tents, but did not provide evidence for this claim. At least five people were confirmed killed and at least 70 injured, with the death toll expected to rise given the number of victims with severe burns. Twenty-five injured people were transferred to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. It was reported as the seventh attack on the hospital since March 2024.

The strike occurred while emergency services were still receiving injured people from an earlier Israeli bombardment of a school in Nuseirat that killed 22 and injured 80. According to a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) coordinator on site, the resulting fire destroyed structures sheltering 37 families; families' cooking gas cylinders exploded and fueled the blaze. Munitions experts who reviewed video of the fire said some secondary explosions were probably caused by small-arms ammunition, but said it was difficult to determine the exact cause without site access. MSF, which has staff working at the hospital, said it had no knowledge of a Hamas command center and stated the hospital "functions as a hospital."

Hospital staff said many of the injured were women and children, and that the hospital itself was not damaged, though patients had to be treated on the floor due to a lack of beds. Most of the injured had second- and third-degree burns, with some also suffering shrapnel wounds. Widely shared video verified by NBC showed a person burning alive while connected to what appeared to be an IV drip; he was identified as Sha'ban al-Dalou, a 19-year-old software engineering student who had been injured in an earlier bombing of the Shuhada al-Aqsa mosque a week prior. His mother was also killed in the fire, and his father suffered severe burns while rescuing two other children. Al-Dalou's 11-year-old brother, Abdul Rahman al-Dalou, died from his burns on 17 October.

The attack drew international responses. A U.S. National Security Council spokesperson said the White House had expressed concern to the Israeli government, calling the images "deeply disturbing" while also noting Israel's contention that Hamas was operating near the hospital. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield and UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward both referenced the strike at an October 16, 2024 UN Security Council meeting. UNICEF condemned the attack, citing reports that 15 children were killed in strikes on shelters in Deir al-Balah and at the hospital. MSF called the attack "totally unacceptable" and called for a ceasefire. Video of al-Dalou's death also prompted a false conspiracy theory from some pro-Israel social media accounts claiming it was staged, which spread alongside broader outrage over the incident.