Palestinian surgeon slams HRW as unreliable source, says al-Ahli Hospital report ‘baseless’

A British-Palestinian surgeon has denounced as “unfounded” a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on the deadly strike on Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital, saying it was published without a genuine investigation or conclusive evidence, and that HRW is not a reliable source “as it serves the enemy.”

Professor Ghassan Abu Sitta made the remarks during a lecture titled “The destruction of Gaza’s health sector: confronting devastation and forced displacement” in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday.

Sitta highlighted that HRW neither communicated with the director of the hospital nor contacted the doctor who received Israeli orders for evacuation in its report.

He went on to say that HRW did not bother to talk to any of the witnesses of the crime as it unfolded, adding, “I always told you never use HRW as a reliable source because it served the enemy.”

On Sunday, HRW reported that evidence suggested a misfired Gaza rocket was the likely cause of an explosion that resulted in heavy casualties at al-Ahli Hospital on October 17, which left at least 417 people dead.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, As’ad Abdukhalil, a professor at California State University, Stanislaus, said Sitta’s verdict against HRW was “very damning.”

Sitta, traveled with Doctors Without Borders via Egypt to Gaza on 9 October to work in the besieged territory’s hospitals as a surgeon. He worked in both al-Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals in Gaza.

He has already recounted harrowing healthcare-related ordeals the Palestinian civilians have gone through during Israel’s onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.

A veteran war surgeon chronicling the horror unfolding inside Gaza hospitals

Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a British-Palestinian plastic surgeon, has been performing non-stop surgeries at Gaza hospitals since October 7 and also chronicling the horror unfolding inside the hospitals.

HRW said in its report that, "The explosion that killed and injured many civilians at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza on October 17, 2023, resulted from an apparent rocket-propelled munition,” such as those commonly used by Palestinian resistance groups.

It claimed that the findings of its investigation into the explosion were based on a review of photos and videos, satellite imagery, and interviews with witnesses and experts.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said all indications pointed to Israel's responsibility, adding that the HRW report was biased towards Israel and was not "decisive".

"HRW hasn't come up with any evidence to support their findings nor eyewitness testimonies nor opinion of independent military exports," he said, adding that Hamas received questions from HRW two weeks ago but asked it to delay its report until after the war had ended.

Palestinian surgeon recounts ordeal following Israel's use of white phosphorus, incendiary bombs in Gaza

A British-Palestinian surgeon recounts harrowing ordeals the Palestinian civilians went through during the Israeli regime’s onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

The explosion at the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital triggered outrage across the Arab world. Palestinians blamed an Israeli air strike, while Israel claimed it was caused by a misfiring Palestinian rocket launch.

Since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, Israel has pounded hospitals across the besieged enclave where thousands of displaced people and patients were sheltering.

The regime has falsely accused the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas of using hospitals as bases, which Hamas has dismissed.

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