Air strike on Gaza hospital kills hundreds, local authorities say

Any more clarity if the explosion was an IDF air strike or a Hamas rocket launch malfunction?

Both sides will believe what they have already chosen to believe. Irrespective of this tragedy, Netanyahu has I fear, boxed himself into a war he cannot win. Even if he manages to destroy Hamas, he has just recruited twice as many to some form of resistance, whether it is called Hamas or something else. And what is he then going to do with the two million Gazans? Will Israel rebuild their water supply and everything else currently being destroyed? Will either side trust the other, even slightly, in the next twenty or thirty years?

The Hamas group will now have supporters that will come to assist them from all over the world. They will find a way to help them. This will become a battle of one religion versus the other religion.

Apparently the videos purporting to show the attack on the hospital have time stamp issues, both on the part of the IDF and the other side. Quoting from a Rolling stone article: One viral video purporting to depict the blast on Tuesday — which shows a rocket veering off its intended course and back into the area from which it had been fired — was quickly identified as having been posted on X (formerly Twitter) in 2022. Another video claiming to depict a rocket failing amid a barrage of launches from the Gaza Strip was identified as footage posted on the Israeli Defense Force’s YouTube channel in August 2022.

The tragedy of this is irrefutable. In times like this - take note that even though the IDF / Israel does not accept responsibility, they take no pleasure in this. No-one that supports them, at home or abroad, is dancing in the streets, handing out sweets, etc. This is a fundamental difference.

I find it implausibe that Israel would intentionally target a hospital as it would provide little military significance and would (has) generated enormous international outrage. They would obviously know that and have been able to predict the potential for a reduction in the level of support from their traditional backers. That is of course not to say that they couldn't have done it by mistake. The idea that one of many 'artisanal' rockets fired at Israel from positions behind the hospital could fail and fall short striking the hospital is perfectly plausible. Similarly the possibility of fuel, gas or even Hamas' munitions being stored onsite and contributing to secondary explosions seems far from unlikely. Doesn't matter a jot what proves to be true, it remains a horrifying tragedy and the nutcase true believers on opposite ends of the issue will not be moved from their positions a centimetre.

This has been exposed as fake news. The president of the United States of America has confirmed that the attack was in fact a failed missile strike from the Gaza strip. So kindly update with the truth.

I think that you should update Al Mughrabi's headline. It is clear that this was not an AIR strike. I would expect the the Daily Maverick to know what fake news is by now.

In the context of Hospitals in the Gaza strip it is well known that under the Al Shiva hospital there is a big hamas command centre.

Remarkable that rockets seldom cause this much damage when they land in Israel.

This is fake news, unverified and published. Why not protect your reputation DM and take it down? It is incendiary and irresponsible to say the least. Kindly verify facts before inciting violence and protests, thank you.