On this day—October 17, 2023
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.”
Hamas claimed Israel struck Al-Ahli Hospital and killed 471 people. The New York Times ran the headline “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinian Officials Say.” UN officials and media amplified it within hours.
It was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that misfired and landed in the courtyard. Listen to the intercepted conversation of Hamas operatives realizing it themselves (video).
Damage was inconsistent with an Israeli airstrike. US, British, French and other intelligence assessments, plus open-source analyses by the AP, CNN, Washington Post and Human Rights Watch, concluded it was a failed rocket launched from inside Gaza. The IDF had no strike in the area at the time.
The death toll was also inflated. US intelligence estimated 100–300 (likely the low end). European sources put it in the dozens. The Anglican Diocese that runs the hospital estimated around 200. The visible crater and damage did not match the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry’s 471.
That number stayed on the official casualty list anyway. The WHO cited it. The inflated total kept circulating long after the evidence pointed elsewhere.
Blood libels do not require proof. They only require speed.
“This handful of rioters does not represent the public in Israel. The actions of this handful stain an entire nation and severely harm the security of all Israeli citizens and IDF fighters.”