Strike in central Gaza kills women and children, verified footage showspublished at 15:52 British Summer Time
Sebastian Vandermeersch and Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify
Image source, ReutersImage caption,
A Reuters photographer was at al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital to see casualties from the strike arrive
We have verified multiple videos showing a deadly strike at Deir al-Balah in central Gaza early this morning which local reports say killed at least 15 people including eight children and two women. People queueing for nutritional supplements were among the dead, according to Gaza’s al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.
CCTV footage we have verified shows two men walking just before an explosion. A little over 10 metres (32ft) away we can see one group of women and children.
Footage filmed immediately afterwards and shared on social media shows the bodies of the two men as well as dead and badly injured women and children. Another group of casualties appear to have been as close as six metres (20ft) from the blast.
We counted at least six bloodied and motionless children and five adults in the videos, along with several others who appeared badly wounded and barely moving.
The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted a “Hamas terrorist” in the area and it “regret[ted] any harm to uninvolved individuals” adding that the incident was “under review”.
We verified and geolocated the footage by identifying distinctive background features – such as tree patterns and building shapes – and confirmed the timing by analysing the angle of shadows in the CCTV video.
Reverse image searches confirmed the videos were posted recently. We were able to link multiple clips to the same incident by matching details such as the clothing worn by the children who were killed.