What have open source videos revealed about the Gaza hospital explosion?

As Israel bombards Gaza, media organisations are investigating what happened at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital where officials say hundreds were killed. The United Nations on Friday called for an independent international investigation into a devastating blast at a packed hospital in Gaza City earlier this week.

Palestinian officials of the Gaza Strip blamed an Israeli strike for the explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital, while the Israeli army said it was caused by an errant rocket fired by the armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which denied the assertion. Israel's ally the United States has also put the blame on Palestinian fighters, while Arab states have blamed Israel.

An investigation by Al Jazeera's Sanad verification team found that Israeli statements seem to have misinterpreted the evidence. They have made a fabricated story saying that one of the flashes recorded by several sources was a rocket misfire.

Al Jazeera said, that their Sanad team has reviewed all videos in detail. Sanad concluded that the flash Israel attributed to a misfire was consistent with Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system, which intercepts a missile fired from the Gaza Strip and destroys it in midair.

Channel 4 has drawn a similar conclusion. It has published a video analysis examining the evidence presented by both sides. Channel 4 said there was "no proof that the midair and ground explosions are necessarily linked".

So far, there appears to be no conclusive evidence to determine who was behind the second blast, the one that hit al-Ahli hospital.

Meanwhile, a number of organizations have suggested that the relatively small crater left by the attack appears incompatible with weapons habitually launched by Israel.tion 02 minutes 51 seconds02:51

Israel is targeting civilian areas: Strikes have hit hospitals, aid agencies & schools. The investigative journalism group Bellingcat identified what appeared to be the impact crater after analyzing footage and images of the aftermath. In a preliminary analysis, the group said the ground surrounding one side of the crater showed a cone of scarring and pitting, consistent with the explosion of a munition at this site.

The Bellingcat report has one more point. Marc Garlasco, a military adviser at the PAX Protection of Civilians team, noted the impact point did not appear to be consistent with the 500, 1000 or 2000-pound bombs used in Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) used by Israel, according to the report. 

Channel 4 journalists who visited the site in the aftermath of the incident also reported seeing small craters compatible with mortar strikes rather than missiles. They said that Surrounding buildings only had superficial damage and no structural collapse.
The broadcaster reported, "this makes a ground detonating Israeli missile strike unlikely, but it doesn't rule out an airburst munition which could cause major loss of life but would produce far less structural damage."

Footage reviewed by the BBC, meanwhile, revealed inconsistencies in the reconstruction of events presented by Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari on Wednesday.  The British network said, "The spokesman said it had been fired from a nearby cemetery – and there is a cemetery next to the hospital. But a map displayed by the spokesman showed a launch site further away. We have not been able to locate a cemetery there."

According to the broadcaster, an important part of missing evidence is missile fragments. Projectiles are often identifiable by the wreckage of their shell and can be used to determine the projectile's origin, but in the case of the Gaza hospital attack, nobody yet found the evidence. 

Meanwhile, Social media accounts on both sides have been scrutinised in the search for clues as accusations fly and tempers flare.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad posted a message on Telegram at 7:09pm on the night of the explosion saying it had fired a barrage of rockets towards Israel – just minutes after the blast occurred.

In an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Musab al-Breim said the timing of posts did not always indicate the timing of launches. Musab is a spokesman for the group. 

Posts on X sent by Hananya Naftali, a digital aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also expressed suspicion. He wrote that "Israeli Air Force struck a Hamas terrorist base inside a hospital in Gaza". But the post was almost immediately deleted!

By 10.58pm, Naftali apologised on X for sharing "a Reuters report". He said that the report "falsely stated Israel struck the hospital". "As the [Israeli army] does not bomb hospitals, I assumed Israel was targeting one of the Hamas bases in Gaza," added Naftali.

The Israeli army, in support of their claim, also released a video with a recording of a conversation between purported Hamas officials. In the reccording they appear to talk about the misfired rocket that had caused the hospital blast.

But In its analysis, Channel 4 said it had found the call's credibility questionable due to the syntax used, accent, and tone of voice.

The Palestinian health ministry said more than 470 people were killed in the explosion, while Israel said the number was deliberately inflated. US intelligence agencies assessed the number of victims to be between 100 and 300 people.