At dawn on Monday, October 16th, 2023, between four to seven civilians, including four to six paramedics, were reportedly killed and several more injured when two alleged Israeli airstrikes hit an ambulance and the Civil Defense headquarters in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood southwest of in Gaza City.

Initially a Facebook user Ahmed Saleha reported that four humanitarian personnel were killed, sharing an image of a seriously injured man in the uniform stained with blood. Later the Palestinian refugee portal and other sources wrote that seven civilians were killed. It was reported by Al Arabiya news outlet that six of the those seven civilians killed were paramedics, three of whom were members of the Civil Defense.

The Palestinian Refugee Portal added that “the Palestinian Red Crescent had confirmed that its vehicles could not move in front of Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza to respond to calls for response due to the intensity of the bombing”. Royanews.tv further corroborated that “dozens of citizens evacuated buildings and homes adjacent to the site of the bombing on Tal al-Hawa, due to the extensive damage it caused to their homes, in addition to the fear that homes and residential towers would be targeted at any moment”.

Al Jazeera also reported on the strike and reposted a video by the Red Crescent showing moments between two strikes: an ambulance with civilians, including a young girl and paramedics inside the ambulance, and moments later the sound of another airstrike, presumed to be at the Civil Defense Headquarters, is hear nearby. A video posted by Israa Hossam Salam on Facebook showed the aftermath of the strike where ambulance drivers recovered and recounted the event.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.