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Three years have passed since the October 17, 2023 strike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, where hundreds of Palestinians fleeing Israeli attacks had sought shelter. An explosion in the crowded courtyard that evening killed hundreds of people, including women and children, and wounded hundreds more.

Gaza's Health Ministry reported that about 500 people were killed, while the World Health Organization (WHO) said 342 were wounded, 28 of them seriously. The United Nations described the blast as one of the bloodiest events of the first days of the war.

A hospital that became a refuge

Al-Ahli Arab Hospital was founded in 1882. Its management was taken over by Baptist missionaries between 1954 and 1982, and the facility was later handed to the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Because of its earlier management, it continued to be known as the Baptist Hospital.

The hospital provided health care to Palestinians without regard to religion or affiliation. When Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip began in October 2023, it became one of the places where civilians hoping to save their lives and find safety gathered. At the time of the strike, it was treating patients and the wounded while also hosting large numbers of displaced Palestinians who had escaped Israeli air strikes.

Struck days before and told to evacuate

Yusuf Eburriş, undersecretary of the Health Ministry in Gaza, said at a news conference on October 18, 2023 that the hospital had been hit by two missiles on October 14 and damaged. Eburriş said hospital officials were later called by phone from the Israeli side, told the missiles had been fired as a warning, and asked why the hospital had not been evacuated.

Hospital management contacted officials of the Anglican Church in the United Kingdom, and church officials then reached out to international organizations, which gave assurances that the facility could continue operating, according to Eburriş.

The WHO said in a statement on October 17, 2023 that Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital was among 20 hospitals and health facilities in the northern Gaza Strip that the Israeli army had ordered evacuated. The statement said evacuation was not possible because of unsafe conditions, the severity of patients' health, and shortages of ambulances, medical staff and beds. It also pointed to the lack of alternative shelter for displaced Palestinians.

Hundreds killed in the courtyard blast

At around 7 p.m. on October 17, 2023, a large explosion struck the crowded courtyard where Palestinians who had come to the hospital in search of safety were staying. The Middle East Council of Churches said hundreds of people were killed or wounded, among them many children.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights later reported that the munition landed in the hospital parking lot, where hundreds of displaced Palestinians were sheltering at the time. Gaza's Health Ministry announced that about 500 Palestinians were killed, and the WHO reported 342 wounded, 28 of them in serious condition.

Most of the wounded were transferred to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. In a report dated October 18, 2023, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Shifa was already operating beyond its capacity before the strike, serving roughly a quarter of Gaza's patients. After the arrivals from Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, medical staff had to treat patients in extremely difficult conditions, with doctors carrying out many operations without anesthesia in corridors and on floors. The OCHA report called the attack the deadliest incident since Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip began.

Widespread damage to Gaza's health system

The events at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital were recorded as one example of the attacks on health facilities in Gaza. Israeli strikes on hospitals and health centers continued despite reactions from international organizations and calls for medical facilities to be protected.

According to the latest figures shared by Gaza's Health Ministry, 38 hospitals and 96 health centers in the area were bombed, destroyed or put out of service as a result of Israeli army attacks. Since October 2023, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 175,000 wounded in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, and about 90 percent of civilian infrastructure in the area has been destroyed.

Key takeaways

• A strike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on October 17, 2023 killed hundreds of displaced Palestinians sheltering in the courtyard, including women and children.
• Gaza's Health Ministry reported about 500 deaths; the WHO said 342 people were wounded, 28 of them seriously.
• The hospital had been hit by two missiles on October 14, 2023, and was among 20 facilities in northern Gaza ordered to evacuate, which the WHO said was not possible.
• Gaza's Health Ministry says 38 hospitals and 96 health centers have been bombed, destroyed or taken out of service since October 2023.