Overnight on 10 November 2023, an alleged Israeli bombardment on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City reportedly resulted in the death of Rola Maher Zahdi Thraya, a 22 year old woman. Others were injured, including a child, after an airstrike reportedly hit the fifth floor of the hospital, causing damage to the maternity and outpatient wards.

Family members of Rola reported her death via social media. Madeleine al-Ahmad, a cousin of Rola’s mother, shared the news of Rola’s death on Facebook, adding that Rola was in the hospital having been injured two weeks prior when the family’s home had been attacked. Multiple sources referenced Rola joining her sister, Raghad, who according to Haneen Hasan Hasan on Facebook, had been killed 15 days earlier. Shireen Observatory reported that Rola was 22 at the time of her death, and from Deir al-Balah. Rahaf Abed remembered Rola as “an angel” who “couldn’t wait [to catch] up with [her] sister Raghad.”

Specific details relating to the child who was injured in the attack were not shared in the sources available at the time of writing.

Palestine Info shared a video on Twitter/X, reportedly showing a young boy trying to help his father in the aftermath of the attack in the outpatient clinic. The video shows the man on the floor and the child calling for help before attempting to aid his father to his feet. The man has visible injuries, including a head injury, and clearly struggles to stand unsupported.

Multiple news agencies including Sky News, Shehab News, Quds News Network and Palestine Info reported the attack. Shehab’s first reports stated that children had been injured and included videography of multiple wounded, including children. An early post on Twitter/X said that the Director of the hospital had stated that there were more than six people killed in the attack. Later, Shehab News reported that the Ministry of Health had announced one person had died and a child had been injured in the specific attack which took place in the maternity ward. Other sources, such as Al-Mayadeen News reported that attacks on Al-Shifa had occurred throughout the night and that there were multiple incidents on the day that Rola was killed. Manassa News also reported that the main reception and emergency areas were attacked on 10 November 2023, with a video certified by Reuters showing multiple people dead and injured, including children. These reports of multiple incidents may account for the varied numbers of deaths reported across the day.

In the aftermath of the strike on the fifth floor maternity and outpatient ward, multiple sources reported chaos and panic in the hospital. Al Mashhad on Facebook, shared videos of the moment the attack reportedly occurred, with a video taken from the hospital courtyard where people were staying in makeshift tents showing the moment of impact, followed by footage inside the corridors of panicked people in the darkness. Elena Ali on Facebook also reported hundreds of people stampeding down the stairs in the aftermath of the attack trying to escape the ward and find shelter. Elena said this included pregnant women and women who had not long since given birth.

Yasmin Nasr Ahmed, via Facebook, posted that following 35 days of work at Al-Shifa she had to leave as a result of the continued bombardment of the hospital. She shared an image of people who she stated were family members of those wounded, leaving the hospital and all walking along a road. Yasmin reported that she walked several kilometers to reach safety from the hospital and surrounding areas. ABC News quoted a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) physician as saying “We don’t have electricity. There’s no water in the hospital. There’s no food. People will die in a few hours without functioning ventilators.”

Images shared after the attack showed the level of damage inside the wards. Nasreen Mataq shared photos on Facebook of the ward, which showed collapsed ceilings, metal poles and ceiling panels hanging down in disarray, as well as corridors filled with dusty rubble and broken shelves and chairs and a wall which had been blown out in the attack exposing the room to the outdoors.

Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, Rola’s name has been matched to the third ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on April 1, 2024.

While some sources referenced “Israeli airstrikes,” multiple reported that the hospital had been struck “with artillery shells.”

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the incident to the Israeli Military.