British-Palestinian surgeon condemns HRW report on Al-Ahli Hospital

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
6 Dec 2023 15:09
1 Shares

Human Rights Watch has released an initial report blaming the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital massacre on a misfired Resistance rocket, without providing any material evidence to its claims.

Palestinians check the place of the bombing at Al-Ahli hospital, in Gaza City, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP)

A British-Palestinian surgeon, Professor Ghassan Abu Sitta, criticized a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital strike in Gaza, describing it as "unfounded".

He stated that the report lacked a genuine investigation, conclusive evidence, and reliability, as HRW did not contact the hospital director or the doctor who received Israeli evacuation orders.

Abu Sitta emphasized that HRW did not interview witnesses of the incident and cautioned against relying on HRW as a trustworthy source “as it serves the enemy."

Professor Ghassan Abu Sitta made the remarks during a lecture titled “The destruction of Gaza’s health sector: confronting devastation and forced displacement” in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday.

The HRW report, on November 26, suggested that a misfired Gaza rocket was likely responsible for the bombing of Al-Ahli Hospital on October 17, resulting in numerous casualties.

The Government Media Office: #Israel committed a war crime, targeting the courtyard of the Baptist Hospital.

Hundreds of displaced Gazans had been taking shelter in the courtyard of the hospital thinking that it would be safe because it is a hospital sponsored by Christian… pic.twitter.com/PiZin8jqDH
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 17, 2023

Professor Ghassan Abu Sitta, who traveled to Gaza with Doctors Without Borders on October 9 to provide surgical assistance, has shared distressing accounts of the healthcare challenges faced by Palestinian civilians amid the Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip. It is worth noting that he worked as a surgeon in both Al-Shifa and Al-Ahli hospitals in Gaza.

Hamas slams HRW report on Baptist Hospital, invites org. to Gaza

Palestinian Resistance factions, including Hamas, have condemned, on November 27, the recent report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which concludes that a misfired Resistance rocket killed hundreds of civilians in Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, without reviewing any material evidence from the site of the attack.

Hamas released a statement deploring HRW's initial report regarding "the Israeli aggression against hospitals in Gaza, especially [al-Ahli Baptist Hospital]," which took place on October 17.

The Resistance movement said the HRW's report adopted the Israeli narrative of the events, holding the Palestinian Resistance responsible for the atrocity "without providing clear material evidence."

Moreover, Hamas stressed that the organization "ignored the Israeli policy of systematic targeting of hospitals, which affected all hospitals in the Gaza Strip."

Hamas called on HRW to review the unfounded conclusions it made in the report, adding that it welcomes "the organization to visit Gaza and directly investigate the incident" once the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip ends.

The movement reminded HRW of several investigations conducted by international organizations, which held "Israel" responsible for the attack.

On its part, al-Mujahideen Movement denounced HRW's biased report on the incident, saying that the international organizations' readiness to adopt Israeli narratives makes them complicit in Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people. The movement stressed that the report goes hand in hand with Western and American narratives, which justify and encourage the occupation's aggression against medical institutions and civilians.

HRW fails to live up to its obligations

Human Rights Watch released its initial report, on November 27, whereby it claimed that the strike on Al-Ahli Hospital "resulted from an apparent rocket-propelled munition, such as those commonly used by Palestinian armed groups, that hit the hospital grounds."

However, the organization did admit that its investigation was limited to "publicly available photos and videos, analyzing satellite imagery, interviewing five witnesses to the incident and its aftermath, reviewing analyses published by other organization and consulting experts."

Importantly, the organization failed to collect any material evidence from the attack and has instead referenced the Israeli narrative on the incident. Moreover, its analysis has clearly ignored and failed to address several points put out by organizations and media outlets, which provide evidence of "Israel's" responsibility for the attack.

Evidence that highlights the speed at which the ammunition exploded at the time of impact, the size of the explosion and the resulting crater, and video footage that debunked Israeli propaganda that a barrage of rockets was launched momentarily before Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital was bombed were not addressed in the report.

Instead, the organization attempted to patch up a ragged Israeli narrative, via unfounded and unverified claims. Analyzing geolocations and satellite imagery has allowed several media outlets such as the British Channel 4 to provide evidence of "Israel's" responsibility for the attack.

Al Mayadeen English had previously put out a report analyzing several factors that point to "Israel's" responsibility for the massacre, which killed at least 500 people.

HRW failed to extensively investigate these factors and has instead depended on superficial assumptions to make its conclusions.