Around [1:30 am] an Israeli airstrike targeted displacement tents in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. The hospital is inside the "humanitarian zone" as per Israel's official communication. Specifically in block 128.

The strike caused a large fire to erupt which burned alive the people inside, as seen in multiple footage. The fire caused other items to explode minutes later including gas cylinders.

The fire grew near press tents. Journalist Safinaz Al-Louh was injured. This was the third time press tents in the hospital couryard was targeted in 6 months.

A young man was seen burning alive. He was identified as Shaaban Al-Dalo who survived an Israeli massacre the week before when the hospital's mosque was bombed by Israel. His mother Alaa was murdered alongside him in the fire. Shaaban was a 19 years-old software engineering freshman, and a Hafiz (memorizer of the Quran). Israel destroyed his home and university before forcibly displacing him earlier last year, and ultimately murdering him.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer commented on LBC about people being burnt alive as a Pallywood fabrication.

Casualties :

Preliminary report of casualties: 4 killed and 40 wounded

Names of the martyrs (identified):

1. Shaaban Ahmed Al-Dalo
2. Alaa Abdunasser Al-Dalo (Shaaban's mother)
3. Abdurrahman Al-Dalo (child, Shaaban's brother, succumbed to injuries on October 18)
4. Farah Al-Dalo (Shaaban's sister, succumbed to injuries on October 21)
5. Osama Saeed Kaloub
6. Siraj Aliwa

Testimony of Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud present on site

"It is an extreme fire that keeps spreading. Civil Defence members had to be called and dispatched from other areas in central Gaza after working all day long in the Bureij refugee camp,so for an hour, there were no rescue crews at the hospital.

Someone inside the hospital described loud explosions and the fire spread right away because of what looks like incendiary bombs being used. The fact that these tents are made of plastic, nylon and pieces of wood makes the fire spread quickly as well.

We’re talking about 20 to 30 tents that have been completely destroyed, completely burned down. There were many people inside the tents as the fire spread who were not saved.

The report that I’m receiving right now is that the fire is still spreading and the situation is quite chaotic. We’re looking at the large number [of deaths] as these tents are close to each other, back-to-back and set up in a small space inside the hospital courtyard."