White House says imagery of Gazans burning alive after Israeli strike is 'horrifying'

WASHINGTON

Gruesome videos and pictures appearing to depict displaced Palestinian civilians burning alive in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza are both "horrifying" and "deeply disturbing," the White House said Monday.

A National Security Council spokesperson told Anadolu on condition of anonymity that the White House "made our concerns clear to the Israeli government" after seeing the graphic imagery.

"Israel has a responsibility to do more to avoid civilian casualties — and what happened here is horrifying, even if Hamas was operating near the hospital in an attempt to use civilians as human shields," the spokesperson said.

Four people were killed and 40 others were injured when Israeli warplanes hit a courtyard at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah Sunday night, burning dozens of tents as displaced Palestinians slept.

Medical teams evacuated several injured individuals, including women and children, whose clothes were set ablaze by the explosion.

The victims suffered severe burns, with some bodies charred beyond recognition. Most of the injured sustained second and third-degree burns, eyewitnesses told Anadolu. They also reported that the fire spread rapidly due to the flammable nylon and fabric materials used in the tents.

According to a written statement from the government media office in Gaza, this was the Israeli army's seventh attack targeting the tents of displaced civilians at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Israel had previously bombed tents at that site on Jan. 10, March 13, July 22, Aug. 4, and Sept. 27.

Israel has waged a sweeping offensive on Gaza following a Hamas-led cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed nearly 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures. More than 42,200 people have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 98,400 have been injured, according to Gaza health authorities.

Nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war amid ongoing Israeli restrictions on the entry of international assistance that has led to acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.