"Do you want to witness a war crime?" asked a Palestinian man to the young aspiring TV journalist seeking a story with a different humane angle in Northern Gaza during a brief truce in late November between the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas.
"Go to Al-Nasr hospital," the man, walking with his wife, directed Mohammed Baalousha on that morning in late November.
On the morning of November 27, Baalousha who was employed by a newly launched Dubai-based TV channel ventured into the streets of North Gaza. The objective of this daring endeavour was to document the lifeless bodies of Palestinian civilians left in the streets during the truce.
These individuals had been killed by the Israeli army and their remains were left in the open, serving as further evidence of war crimes.
However, nothing could have prepared Baalousha for the sights he was about to witness and capture on his iPhone within the confines of the deserted children’s hospital.
What he filmed on that morning would be among the main examples South Africa would use in its lawsuit in front of the International Justice Court against Israel demanding a cease of military operations in Gaza immediately. "FYI, I started working on this post before the hearings"
Once upon a time, two children's hospitals became one
Situated approximately six kilometres south of the Israeli border in the Al-Nasr neighbourhood, El-Nasr Hospital was established in 1961 and transitioned into a children's hospital in 1973.
Al-Nasr Hospital of Gaza in the year 1978 during the Israeli occupation "Ahmed Saad Sharab Archives" |
In 2019, it became part of the Al-Nasr Medical Complex, including an eye hospital and psychiatric hospital, sharing a block with Al-Rantisi Children's Cancer Hospital.
Zoom in to see the map showing the three hospitals in Gaza that formed a complete medical complex |
The eye hospital, psychiatric hospital and Al-Rantisi Children's Cancer Hospital were considered the first of their kind in Gaza.
El-Rantisi Hospital is named after Dr Abdel Aziz El-Rantisi, the leader and co-founder of Hamas and a paediatrician. It started its operations in 2017. “In case you do not know El-Rantisi’s widow Jamila El-Shanty who was a prominent Hamas member as well as a member of the legislative Palestinian Council was killed in this war”.
In a recent photo, the entrance of the hospital that follows the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry |
Managed by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, a merger was announced in October 2021, uniting Al-Nasr and Al-Rantisi under the name Al-Nasr-Al-Rantisi Hospital.
On October 11, two years later, the official "El-Nasr El-Rantisi Hospital" Facebook page posted the following notice.
"Please be informed that the services of the Reception and Emergency Department at Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital have been transferred to al-Nasr Children's Hospital."
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) already started its shelling and air strikes against Gaza following the October 7th attack by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups.
The hospital began to receive displaced people as well as injured and displaced children due to the Israeli shelling.
Twenty days after the October 7th attack, the IOF initiated a land invasion of Gaza from the North and the East.
On October 17, the Israeli airstrikes caused damage to Al-Nasr Children's Hospital as it began to bomb buildings in the same area earlier that morning.
A glass panel fell into a child while receiving treatment in a hospital bed on that day
The little patient survived the fall of the glass panel due to the Israeli airstrike on October 17 |
No one was killed on that day but the impact of the airstrike began to be felt in the building.
Here is a short clip filmed on October 22 by a paediatrician who works in the hospital and has been tweeting under the handle “@ma_loolla” showing the displaced families or rather their children having some sort of activity in its courtyard.
نازحون في مستشفى النصر للأطفال قبل أن تشردهم إسرائيل الى نزوحٍ آخر! pic.twitter.com/pnTHQLQBWU
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) December 1, 2023
Up till then some volunteers, like the late artist Mohamed Sami, who was tragically killed in the Israeli shelling of Baptist Hospital five days before the above video, endeavoured to engage children in such activities for their psychological well-being—an aspect, unfortunately, often neglected in Egypt.
To avoid the constant shelling targeting deliberately civilian residential areas in Northern Gaza, many locals headed to hospitals nearby seeking refuge especially if they had an injured relative or refused to leave the North. Logically and theoretically, hospitals can't be targeted according to international laws and conventions above them Geneva Convention
Technically and realistically, as we have witnessed, whether in Baptist Hospital or later in Al-Shifa Hospital, hospitals consistently rank among the primary targets of the Israeli army.
As the Israeli army commenced its land invasion with heavy and destructive shelling and airstrikes, resulting in the largest forced displacement ever witnessed in Gaza from its north to its south, it escalated attacks on at least six hospitals during this period. The focus was on one hospital every few days as the IOF advanced in the city.
These attacks are supported by false information disseminated in the Israeli media, claiming that the hospitals harbour underground Hamas bases with tunnels connecting the city. This assertion is linked to the historical fact that during the Israeli occupation, the Israeli army constructed underground floors beneath Al-Shifa Hospital.
This historical fact did not make it on time to the Western media. Another fact: Those basement floors turned into offices and quarters for the doctors to rest there years late.
Al-Nasr Hospital Vs. Israeli Military: A chronological order
The targeting of Al-Nasr Hospital or rather Al-Nasr Medical Complex started when the Israeli bombs caused a fire in the garden of the Eyes Hospital on 1 November. This incident is often neglected but now we can put it as the starting point.
The fire was caused by thermal bombs according to Palestinian media outside the Eyes Hospital in Al-Nasr Medical Complex |
Since the start of the war, as part of the Israeli psychological warfare, Dr. Mustafa Alkahlout, the director of Al-Nasr Hospital, had been receiving calls for evacuation and disclaimers of responsibility in the event of an attack.
On November 4, the IOF ordered him to immediately evacuate the hospital via telephone, warning that they were going to strike it.
Shortly after the call, the IOF bombed the hospital gate, resulting in the death of at least two people and injuries to others. There is a video documenting the moment after the bombing showing the victims. It is extremely graphic to the level I can't upload it or share it here. (You can watch it here and you can see those men who were just going to drink either coffee or tea as their day was just starting without realizing that their life was going to end moments later)
The shelling also destroyed the hospital’s water station.
Gaza has been suffering from a water shortage problem already due to the illegal siege Israel has been imposing for decades. Following the October 7th attack, the Israeli army was proud of cutting the main water supply to Gaza.
On that day, Dr. Alkahlout appealed to the media, seeking international protection against the evacuation orders and threats issued by Israel.
On the same day, “@ma_loolla” tweeted a thread in Arabic in the morning recounting what was mentioned above. She added other important details like the IOF prevented access to drinking water a day earlier on November 3 even before the shelling.
She emphasized how the hospital accommodates tens of thousands of displaced individuals who lost their homes. Still, most importantly it is the last remaining children's hospital with an active neonatal care unit.
Once again, Al-Nasr Hospital now accommodates tens of thousands of displaced individuals, along with medical staff and their families. Everyone has lost their homes, including "children" patients from Al-Dura hospital who were evacuated due to phosphorus bombing and Al-Rantisi hospital bombardment that turned its patients into casualties. The hospital "Al-Nasr" houses a neonatal care unit with babies on artificial respiration and cases in intensive care. It is the last remaining children's hospital in Gaza.”
Overnight on November 5th, the Israeli army shelled El-Nasr Hospital, and the young doctor filmed the shelling as she felt there was not enough coverage in the news for what happened.
أقل من دقيقة
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 6, 2023
من ليل 5 نوفمبر 2023
"فعليا فش صحفيين تغطي كل حدث، وكل مجازر الي بتصير بغرب وشمال غرب غزة.. مبارح خبر قصف كل مستشفيات النصر الي صار الساعة2 بالليل، وصل للاعلام وللادارة العامة للمستشفيات تاني يوم الضهر، الجزيرة بتنقل الخبر بتنكير بيوجع"غرب غزة" او شمالها وهيكا. pic.twitter.com/k9UVedTkSZ
An hour later, on November 6, the Israeli army shelled the El-Nasr Medical Complex, encompassing the third floor of El-Rantisi Cancer Hospital, the eyes hospital, and the psychiatric hospital—Gaza's only operating psychiatric facility. Reportedly, six children lost their lives in the shelling in addition to several displaced people.
That morning our Twitter doctor received a call from an Israeli officer ordering her to immediately evacuate the hospital while anyone on anyone in the street or rather the block where both Al-Nasr Hospital and Eyes Hospital were targetted. She described the shelling as unheard as if the IOF used all types of weapons against them
The situation at Al-Nasr Hospital in Gaza reached a dire state on November 9 when once again the Israeli army shelled the hospital, resulting in the death of a sick child.
One of the examination rooms in Nasr Hospital and you see the hole that shows you the street thanks to the Israeli shelling on November 9,2023 |
In a video, you can see the damage caused by the shelling on this floor whether in this examination room or children's wards.
This shorter clip shows the damage to the same children's ward on that floor.
In both clips, you see the video shooters sent pleas to the Red Cross and other organizations to interfere.
In a video plea, Dr. Mustafa Alkahlout, the hospital director, described the grim conditions.
د.مصطفى الكحلوت مدير مستشفى الرنتيسي والنصر للاطفال، يتحدث عن توقف الخدمات معلنًا وفاة احد الاطفال ويطالب بحماية المستشفى والطواقم والمرضى!!! pic.twitter.com/lfXKNXao6k
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 9, 2023
The hospital was attacked twice, resulting in significant damage, especially to the entrance and various departments. The oxygen supply to the ICU and neonatal unit was cut off, causing the hospital to lose power. The only exception was the ICU, which remained operational.
Eight patients were in the ICU at the time. A renowned paediatrician, Alkahlout who had lost his home in Tal Al-Hawa just days earlier and had chosen not to evacuate to the South of Gaza, stressed the urgent need for electricity to avoid further loss of life.
Tragically, a child with SMA named Yahia Shabat passed away due to an interruption in the oxygen supply. Yahia required a respirator, and his fragile body could not withstand the lack of oxygen. Despite the doctor’s best efforts, attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful.
الطفل يحيى شابط، مريض SMA في العناية المكثفة, وبحاجة لجهاز تنفس صناعي، اليوم توقف المولد الرئيسي في النصر، و بعد قصف المستشفى واستهداف خزان الاكسجين. والاعتماد على سليندر.. توفى يحيى فجأة دون أن يشعرنا حتى.
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 9, 2023
لم تنجح محاولاتنا في اعادته لعالم قذر.
هذا مما لاتقوله الحرب!! pic.twitter.com/ly6bPcXK5c
SMA patients in Gaza have endured significant hardship and urgently need to be transferred abroad for treatment. The plight of these patients, along with those suffering from other neurological genetic diseases, is unimaginable under the deadly old Israeli siege. I can’t imagine what happened to them during this war.
Dr. Alkahlout urgently appealed to international organizations, particularly the Red Cross, to intervene and save the medical staff and ICU patients, stressing the danger faced by anyone leaving the hospital.
He appeared in another video that did not go viral on Twitter or Instagram, yet it found its way to Palestinian Telegram groups.
In that video, Alkahlout speaks about how a boy from the displaced families seeking refuge at Al Nasr Hospital was injured in the Israeli shelling targeting the hospital sustaining several injuries from shrapnel, leading to both internal and external bleeding.
Despite the earlier events, the Israeli army threw flares into the hospital courtyard in the evening as the clashes between it and the Palestinian resistance militants continued.
قنابل إنارة فوق محيط مستشفى النصر، واشتباكات عنيفة. pic.twitter.com/PabDQAkumA
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 9, 2023
The gravity of the situation concerning the Al-Nasr Medical Complex is not limited to providing care for children injured during the war; it primarily served over 3,000 children according to doctors grappling with tumours, heart conditions, and kidney diseases.
Those children were left without access to a specialized hospital to address their medical needs, following the attack on the complex and its two main hospitals.
Overnight, the Israeli army launched flares, and intense clashes persisted between the Israeli army and resistance units in the Al-Nasr neighbourhood itself.
قصف الآن في حي النصر.. وقنابل إنارة. pic.twitter.com/3BLVdRKLDj
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 9, 2023
That night served as only a prelude to a lengthier day.
The Tenth of November
On November 10, UNICEF, among other UN organizations, finally issued a statement naming Al-Nasr and Al-Rantisi hospitals as targets of attack. The statement reported a nearly complete halt of medical care at both hospitals in the past 24 hours.
Only a small generator kept the intensive care and neonatal intensive care units operational.
Al-Rantisi Hospital, where children on dialysis and in intensive care are present, is facing intense attacks and hostilities. Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital was damaged again in a recent attack, including lifesaving equipment.
Another children’s hospital in the north has ceased operations due to damage and fuel shortages, while a specialized maternity hospital urgently needs fuel to continue functioning, UNICEF said.
Notably, the statement lacks acknowledgement of the entity responsible for the attacks and the siege on both hospitals.
There is another huge issue concerning this statement.
Issued in Amman, it arrived extremely late, both in actuality and on social media. The English and Arabic versions of the statement were posted on Twitter after 11 PM.
This occurred nearly 12 hours after the Israeli army raided the complex, assaulting patients, displaced families, and medical staff, and compelling them to walk for hours to reach safety.
At 8: 19 AM, Dr M. photographed the Israeli occupation’s tanks at the crossroads, they targeted the water pipeline and electricity. They prevented any ambulance from trying to evacuate patients or staff.
فش أمل من العالم
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 10, 2023
بتضل شهادتنا قبل التغييب
الدبابات عند المفترق، قصفوا خط المي علينا، والكهربي طبعا. بيمنعوا اي اسعاف يحاول يطلع المرضى او الطاقم.. محيط المستشفيات الرنتيسي والعيون والنصر، مع انه ماضل الا نازحين قليل، وككل الطاقم والمرضى. الان بتحاصره اسرائيل لتقتلهم كلهم!! pic.twitter.com/J3S9UFBFqY
Despite having only a few remaining displaced individuals, in addition to all the staff and patients, the courtyard of Al-Nasr Medical Center was besieged by Israeli tanks.
The Israeli army was preparing to storm the hospital, and they contacted the hospital director to coordinate the evacuation of the displaced individuals based on specific criteria.
Here is another video filmed in Al-Nasr Hospital showing the people from patients and displaced people, mostly elderly, women and children taking shelter in the corridors of one of the four departments inside the hospital.
Regrettably, I couldn't identify the individual who uploaded the video or the speaker featured in it, whom I suspect to be a nurse at the hospital. However, various sources confirm that the footage was indeed captured at the hospital during this period.
At 8:40 AM, in Arabic, Dr M tweeted that the children in the ICU might face death if they were not promptly supplied with oxygen once the last oxygen tank was depleted. This occurred because the oxygen supply was disrupted the day before due to Israeli shelling.
الاطفال الي بالعناية اذا ماتوفرلهن اكسجين قبل مايخلص اخر أنبوبة بعد قصف كل خط الاكسجين مبارح.. حيموتوا!
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 10, 2023
ليش بيوجعني يموتوا خنق مش من قذيفة؟
That was the scene outside Al-Rantisi Hospital at 8:51 according to the video's meta.
The video was shared by the Palestinian Telegram groups.
It is no wonder that the displaced Palestinian citizens at Al-Rantisi Hospital made a plea online calling international organizations above them the Red Cross to provide a safety corridor for them following the Israeli occupation's immediate evacuation order.
Al-Rantisi Hospital may have been out of service medically but it provided shelter to many displaced families that sought safety under its roof.
At 9:37 AM, M urgently tweeted, reporting that the Israeli army had bombed them, directly targeting the people at the hospital. She revealed that the Israeli army had shelled the children in the ICU.
بيڨصفونا بالقذائف مباشرة. قصفوا اطفال العناية يالله
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 10, 2023
أشهد ان لااله الا الله. واشهد ان محمدا رسول الله
يارب نحن قد رضينا.. يارب فارضنا
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. O Lord, we have accepted... O Lord, be pleased with us." With her final prayers, the young doctor spoke, but this was far from the end.
In a video recorded at 9:56 AM, someone filmed an injured Palestinian young man who was shot in his foot by an Israeli sniper outside Al Nasr hospital.
At 10: 09 AM, the Young Palestinian filmed Al-Nasr Hospital’s children's ICU without medical staff following tank threats. You can clearly see the sound of the shelling crystal clear.
عناية مستشفى النصر للأطفال بدون كادر طبي بعد تهديد الدبابات. اسرائيل بتستخدمنا كلنا كدروع بشرية.. كلنا الالف من البشر بالممرات، شهيدة قصفوها امام الباب بعد محاولتهم الخروج"حتى بعد رفع راية بيضاء"!!! pic.twitter.com/gIEEKg4LC2
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 10, 2023
She accused the Israeli army of using the people in the hospital, including medical staff, patients, and displaced individuals, as human shields. She revealed that a woman was killed in a shelling at the hospital's gate as thousands attempted to leave the hospital.
As I revised the video carefully and slowed its speed, I found about three little children including what seemed to be a baby on the bed far right.
Ten minutes later, our doctor filmed unarmed civilians at the hospital gate holding white flags in surrender as they were being shelled by Israeli tanks.
منذ ساعتين ينسق ضابط الدفاع مع مدير المستشفى لخروج النازحين، وبعد ان اقر بخروج الناس وفق مواصفات اكد عليها يتم قصفهم وقنصهم وتهديدهم بالدبابات.
— مِ. (@ma_loolla) November 10, 2023
النازيون الجدد وسط نازية متكاملة pic.twitter.com/HB91InFoqo
Despite the approval two hours earlier from IOF officers for the evacuation of people based on specified criteria during their call with the hospital director, the Palestinian civilians were attacked as they were leaving.
"Neo-Nazis and complete Nazism" she said referring to the Israeli army.
Nine minutes later, Dr M tweeted again while walking alongside thousands forcibly displaced from Al-Nasr Medical Complex. In the scene, a nurse and a doctor were walking in front of her, accompanied by children and women carrying plastic bags.
The displacement of Al-Nasr Hospital people including doctors and nurses on 10 November in North Gaza |
“The occupation has intensified our sense of vengeance on a personal level. It has become broader than just a struggle for liberation and a resistance against a settler colonial project.” She said giving a piece of advice to the IOF “If you want to ensure your existence, try not to leave anyone of us. What remains of us will erase you. The next time will be decisive and the last, God willing.”
On November 10th, the
Israeli military reportedly targeted nearly five hospitals, including Al
Rantisi-Al Nasr Hospitals in Gaza, as reported by activists, with the majority
located in North Gaza.
On November 11, our doctor tweeted the following testimony in Arabic, revealing more details about the final hours of Al-Nasr Hospital on November 10.
"We were all forcibly evacuated from the four hospitals, given only half an hour to leave by the tanks, amidst their gunfire all around us. We stayed beside the patients, abandoned by both relatives and strangers. We left behind two cases in need of artificial respiration, suffocated by Israel after cutting off their breath.
The Red Cross, UNRWA, and all international institutions refused to assist us in transporting anyone. Some of us undertook a perilous adventure to move sick children. We walked for three hours, amidst prayer, frustration, and unwavering faith in God's mercy."
Young and old, carrying makeshift bags, dragging, bearing the burden. Behind us, a profound betrayal will resonate in everyone's conscience. When the head of the mouse-like soldier appeared from behind the dunes, taking cover in the Salah al-Din area, he said to us: "Say, Palestine is gone." We marched, carrying the weight of immense disappointment, which would linger in everyone's throat.
The Red Cross and UNRWA as well as all international institutions were informed that there were babies in the ICU with at least two cases between life and death.
On the same day, the Washington Post reported in its live blog in English on Gaza that Doctors without Borders "MSF" told it that five babies were left in the incubators.
I will quote the same words used by MSF spokesperson Mohammed Abu Mughaisib as it came in the Post :
"The medical staff evacuated because of the shelling on the pediatric hospital, and they couldn’t save the babies to take them out, so they left five babies alone in the intensive care on the machines and the ventilators"
The MSF already had at least one nurse working or rather helping at Al-Nasr Hospital and he knew what happened there. Nurse Fadi Abu Riyala who worked in the operations department at Al-Shifa Hospital originally volunteered at Al-Nasr Hospital where he became a witness in its final hours.
In a video filmed with him on 10 November after being forced to leave the hospital and walk for hours, he stated that they had to leave "patients at the ICU" because they could not transfer and that there were also patients alive at the reception.
On November 13, the IOF released a video claiming evidence that Hamas used the basement of the Rantisi children’s cancer hospital as a detention centre for Israeli captives.
However, the situation took a turn for the absurd as the most capable army in the Middle East presented a work schedule in Arabic as a roster for fighters' guardianship duties with a complete mistranslation that astonished me. Either the Israeli military has not studied and understood Arabic after 75 years or they are playing dumb !!
According to doctors working at the hospital, its basement, initially designated for administration offices, transformed into living quarters for displaced families. These families occupied not only the corridors but also the spaces and even the hospital's rooms, even after it was no longer in service.
The video did not include a tour of Al-Nasr Hospital or its ICU.
14 Days Later
تقرير مراسل "المشهد" الذي صدم العالم: جثث أطفال رضع متحللة في مستشفى النصر في غزة#اخبار_اليوم #محمد_بعلوشة #أطفال_غزة #مستشفى_النصر #المشهد pic.twitter.com/7iq462v5Dz
— Al Mashhad المشهد (@almashhadmedia) November 29, 2023
that baby was still connected to the tubes |
We have seen the footage circulating of deceased newborn babies and claims suggesting that ICRC left or abandoned these babies at the Al Nasr Hospital in northern Gaza.
— ICRC (@ICRC) November 30, 2023
This is false.
👇 pic.twitter.com/1T4XBTg50q
توضيح هام pic.twitter.com/8pN0ZE8b1o
— اللجنة الدولية (@ICRC_ar) November 29, 2023
The IRCR received “several requests” for evacuation from hospitals in the north of Gaza, but due to the “security situation” it was “not involved in any operations or evacuations, nor did teams commit to doing so.”
As the threats from the Israeli army intensified, reaching
their peak on November 10th, that nurse faced the most challenging decision of
his life: to choose the strongest baby among them, one who could endure a
temporary interruption to their oxygen supply for several hours, to accompany
him, his wife, and children.
Baker Qauod, the
director of Al-Rantisi Hospital told the Post that the Israeli army contacted
the hospital telling its managers and doctors that if they were to stay at the
hospital, it would be bombarded.
The IOF told them to
leave within half an hour providing assurance at the same time that ambulances would
be provided to the remaining patients.
In a recorded telephone conversation released
by the IOF between an al-Rantisi official and a senior officer from the
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the official
requested ambulances.
The COGAT officer
responded affirmatively in Arabic, assuring that there would be no problem and
offering to arrange coordination for the ambulances. Additionally, the
al-Rantisi official reminded COGAT that staff would also be evacuating al-Nasr,
which the COGAT officer acknowledged.
Qaoud confirmed that
there was coordination with the Red Cross and the Israeli army for the
evacuation of cases to another safe hospital after leaving the area.
COGAT spokeswoman Shani Sasson informed The Post that
Israeli forces did not instruct al-Nasr's staff to evacuate or conduct
operations within the facility. "For an army that opens incubators to find weapons in it and find tunnels in strange places, I highly doubt it"
She refrained from responding to inquiries regarding whether
COGAT or the Israeli military were informed about the babies or took any steps
to provide assistance to them.
During a live conversation on Twitter,
IDF Spokeswoman Doron Spielman questioned if the whole thing was true.
"There were no premature babies that decomposed because
of the IDF; there were probably no babies that decomposed whatsoever," he
stated.
The babies had names, Learn their names
The Marzouk family's baby in the isolated room while he was still alive in the early morning at the children's ICU in Al-Nasr Hospital as filmed by Dr M on 10 November |
Baby Mazen Taweel |
Balousha survives death
Journalist Mohamed
Balousha made headlines again in December, not for uncovering a horrifying war crime,
but rather for becoming a victim of one himself.
Baalousha had just finished filming a report about a telecommunications blackout and was outside his home in Jabalia when he was suddenly shot down by an Israeli sniper in his leg. He was wearing his Press vest and unarmed. As soon as he was shot, he fell to the ground unconscious for about 20 minutes.
Mohamed Baalousha |
He woke up thanks to the stray cats licking him. He used to feed those cats in the street. Baalousha used to give them some of his son’s powdered milk despite it was and is still a rare commodity in North Gaza. His family already is in another safe place.
He attempted to reach the second floor of the house where he kept his first aid kit. It took six hours to get to the second floor with his injured leg.
Baalousha was live streaming all that on his Instagram account till his iPhone’s battery died. I remember that night very well because I was following him. Thankfully, he made it to the second floor and two of his friends managed to get him to safety. I believe that livestream actually saved him.
Only on 24 January, Baalousha had an operation on his injured leg. The Israeli army denies having a relation with this shooting.
Balousha was struck on the same day that an Israeli shelling
resulted in the death of Al-Jazeera’s veteran cameraman, Samer Abu Daqqa, and
injured Wael Dahdouh, the head of Al-Jazeera’s office in Gaza and a seasoned
journalist.
Dahdouh and Abu Daqqa were in Khan Younes, covering an
Israeli airstrike that targeted the Haifa UNRWA school, which had become a
refuge for displaced families.
In a peculiar and
sombre twist of fate, another individual named Mohamed Balousha in Gaza, who
served as a reporter for Palestine Today Channel, met a tragic end. This
separate Balousha lost his life in an airstrike that struck his family residence on October 17 in North Gaza
as well. At least 11 people from the Baloushas were killed in the airstrike.
It raises the question of whether the fatal airstrike that claimed the life of Mohamed Balousha from
Palestine Today was the same one that caused a glass panel to fall on a young
patient at Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital on the same day.
Maybe they are not
direct relatives, but they are members of the same family or clan, Balousha.
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