Al-Shifa Hospital: The 17 Witnesses on Site – The Originators of the October 7 Footage

In the course of my research, I found 15 different photos from a total of 5 well-known Palestinian photographers from Gaza. I found these predominantly in newspaper publications, on Telegram, or on websites. I only found one photo at a photographer’s agency. I acquired this photo immediately. All other photos were predominantly published in the Arab world and outside the Western world. I found no photo when searching under the keyword „al-Shifa“.
All captions conceal the true location of the event, al-Shifa Hospital. *
*All photos of the 5 photographers used here are screenshots from publications, except for the one photo by Haitham Imad No. 04. They are not originals. The captions are taken from the respective articles and agencies.

Rizek Abduljawad (Xinhua)
Long-time photojournalist and correspondent for the Chinese news agency Xinhua in Gaza. Documented the arrival and display of hostages at al-Shifa Hospital with his camera on October 7.

Abed Abu Reash (AP)
Freelance photojournalist who regularly worked for international agencies such as Associated Press (AP). Proven to have been among the cameramen in the courtyard of al-Shifa Hospital on the morning of October 7.

Imad Haitham (EPA)
Photographer for the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) with a long-standing presence in the Gaza Strip. Provided visual material from the direct vicinity of the arriving hostage vehicles at al-Shifa Hospital.

Mohammed Salem (Reuters)
Award-winning Reuters photographer whose images gained worldwide recognition. Stood in direct connection to the reporting and processes surrounding al-Shifa Hospital on October 7.

Mohammed Talatene (DPA)
Freelance journalist and cameraman who reported from Gaza for the German Press Agency (DPA), among others. Documented the scenes on site while hostages were brought into the hospital compound.

Osama S. Al Ashi (ARD)
Local media maker and liaison person who in this context was also connected to Western broadcasters such as ARD. Considered the head of the local network that coordinated the movements and footage at al-Shifa Hospital.

Hassouna Salim
Journalist at Al Quds and photojournalist from Gaza, closely networked with Osama Al-Ashi’s media structures. Posted preliminary screenshots of the hostage video on Telegram on the morning of October 7, even before the full material was published.

Mohammed Quandeel
Local media worker and photographer from the inner circle around Al-Ashi and Salim. Was proven to be positioned in the immediate vicinity on the morning of October 7 and documented the events photographically.

Hisham M. Alnwajha
Journalist and photographer from Gaza who operated closely with the aforementioned local media networks. Contributed to the visual documentation of the hostage-taking at the al-Shifa complex through his on-site footage.

Nameless (SNG Team / Transmission Vehicle)
Part of the stationary technical team that operated the satellite news gathering (SNG) vehicle directly at al-Shifa Hospital. Research note: Inquiries to local media companies, satellite van renters, and the journalists‘ union in Gaza remained inconclusive or were dismissed as „unknown“ – evidence of the systematic cover-up of this professional setup.

Nameless (Mobile Technical and Escort Staff)
Close employee from the direct environment of the mobile camera group. Research note: Here too, local official bodies and media organizations refuse any information to conceal the entanglement of this infrastructure in October 7.

Nameless (Cameraman on the al-Shifa Grounds)
This cameraman in a striped t-shirt films how the hostages are led out of the green military jeep 703-145.

Nameless (Cameraman and Journalist with Blue Press Vest on the al-Shifa Grounds)
This black-clad cameraman with a baseball cap, just like the journalist with the blue press vest, observed the green military jeep 703-145 with the 6 Israeli hostages.

Nameless (A Second SNG Team / Transmission Vehicle with Red „Press“ Print)
Part of a second stationary technical team that operated the satellite news gathering (SNG) vehicle directly at al-Shifa Hospital. It relieves the first team. It could be a transmission vehicle of the former ZDF partner company in Gaza.

Research note: Inquiries to local media companies, satellite van renters, and the journalists‘ union in Gaza remained inconclusive or were dismissed as „unknown“ – evidence of the systematic cover-up of this professional setup.

Nameless (Journalist with Blue Press Vest in front of the al-Shifa Grounds)
This journalist observes how the motorcycle with the body of Ran Gvili enters the driveway of al-Shifa.

Chronology of October 7

First passive, then active – The control center in the morning

The chronology of this morning does not begin with a surprising event on the street, but in an editorial control center. The investigation starts in the office premises of the media production company „Wide Media“ of Osama S. Al Ashi. The camera looks from a bird’s-eye view directly at the street scene and the entrance area of al-Shifa Hospital. In the background, the calls of the minarets echo through Gaza; it is the orchestral soundtrack for the terror of this morning. Even before the actors themselves enter the action on the street, this opening sequence captures the mood in the room and establishes the passive observation position from which the subsequent events are controlled and dissected.
The recordings show a terrifying transformation: how spectators seamlessly turn into accomplices of the media staging – first passive, then active.

The complete text broadcast from the loudspeakers of the minaret reads:

„Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest. The Palestinian resistance is striking the occupation state, in support of the al-Aqsa Mosque, in defense of Islamic sanctuaries, as revenge for the blood of the martyrs, in defense of prisoners in the occupiers‘ prisons, and the death toll in the control operation is rising and we cannot quantify it right now.“

Passive: 2 men stare spellbound at their smartphones. At this moment they are still passive: they are tracking the live broadcasts of Hamas terrorists directly from Israel. The camera documents up close how those present stare spellbound at the displays where the first Telegram reports and shock images of streets and victims are making the rounds in real time. They consume the terror in real time and they publish everything on their Telegram channels simultaneously.

A crucial Facebook post by Hassouna Salim from the morning of October 7 documents the converging personnel. A camera pan leads us into the hallway of the company building. Here stand men, three of them – led by Osama S. Al-Ashi himself – in blue protective vests with the unmistakable inscription „PRESS.“ As the fourth man in the group, the photographer of this shot, Hisham M. Alnwajha is later identified.

The Turning Point: Taking Over the Live Direction:
Yet they do not remain passive observers. Together with Osama Al-Ashi (in whose office they are), they already know exactly what is happening at this point. While watching the live streams from Israel, the decision is made to continue and take over exactly this live reporting on the side of Gaza. They now know exactly what is coming their way. The group splits up strategically.

Active: The Division of Labor (Quandeel and the al-Shifa Team):
Mohammed Quandeel says goodbye and sets off in the direction of the Israeli border. His task: He acts as an advanced observer, accompanies the hostage transport part of the way, and publishes the corresponding sequences in chronological order on his Telegram account, which proves that he was not yet at al-Shifa at this time. At the same time, the main group around Osama Al-Ashi equips themselves and sets off from Wide Media with a clear goal: al-Shifa Hospital. They do not hurry there because they were surprised by a sudden event. They go there because they saw the livestream. They proactively go to the scene to receive the arrival of the Israeli victims with their cameras and start their own live broadcast.

The Black Jeep and Visual Documentation

The first intermediate sequence draws the viewer directly into the action and can be precisely located via a close-up: At a black jeep from which Naama Levy is dragged out, the scene unfolds in a surprisingly calm, professional camera work (from approx. 160 meters away from the location of the later green jeep). A professional cameraman captures the aggressive group dynamics, the shouts, and the direct escalation around the vehicle in the immediate vicinity of the al-Shifa surroundings. Parallel to this, the digital wave runs high – a preview screenshot on Telegram, published by Hassouna Salim, reflects the excitement and aggressive group dynamics of this moment in real time.

Minutes later, this black jeep is filmed on the al-Shifa grounds. Curious spectators surround the vehicle. Yellow bars are intended to conceal the true events.

The Green Jeep and the Nahal Oz Convoys

Before the main square is completely flooded, the camera switches to the intermediate sequence with reports from Qandeel along the way. They document the grueling transport and the mood pictures on the streets outside the center.

The pace picks up as the first striking IDF jeep with license plate 703-145 reaches the al-Shifa complex. The vehicle is surrounded in no time by a surging crowd of cheering civilians and plainclothes Hamas terrorists. Hospital staff behave passively and watch the hustle and bustle. Armed terrorists struggle to hold back the frenetic mass. Loud Allahu Akbar shouts can be heard, machine gun fire dictates this situation.

Looking Inside:

Two high-resolution images additionally freeze this moment; they show, slightly offset in time but in the immediate vicinity of the jeep, the faces and chaotic energy on site.
Another photo captures one of the central scenes. A cameraman can be seen filming the reloading of the Israeli hostages into an ambulance. The enthusiasm of the spectators is palpable. An injured hostage lies on a stretcher, covered, ignored, and surrounded by fanatical supporters of Hamas terror. Hamas relentlessly directs the action on the al-Shifa grounds.

Shortly afterwards, another cluster of vehicles rolls up – at least four vehicles coming directly from the kibbutzim surrounding the Nahal Oz base. The event has long since attracted the attention of the media: A real satellite news gathering (SNG) vehicle including a permanent cameraman and editor is on site and accompanies the arrival live, as evidenced among other things by the recordings of Rizek Abdeljawad (Xinhua).
How many vehicles and hostages were driven onto the al-Shifa grounds during these 2 hours can only be guessed. The vehicles leave the hospital premises again after a short time.

The Drive Through Rimal

Camera Osama Al Ashi is ready. He is now on his way to the office. He pans further as the convoy leaves the al-Shifa grounds. The drive shifts to the Rimal district in the center of Gaza City, with a clear orientation towards the coast and the sea. A video by Osama Al-Ashi’s team captures this march: Al Ashi is in position, he knows what is coming now. The jeep and the other vehicles roll, densely packed with celebrating Palestinians united with terrorists, flanked by a flowing stream of civilian vehicles and companions lining the street.

The concluding point of this chapter is set by Osama S. Al-Ashi’s video recording of the access road to al-Shifa and Abed Abu Reash’s AP recording from the inner courtyard of the hospital: The motorcycle with the mortal remains of Ran Gvili stops, surrounded by a cheering crowd of civilians and armed men.

The Seamless Connection Inwards – The CCTV Time Window (10:53 to 11:01 AM)

The digital world sounds the alarm: Via the high-reach Telegram channel „Gaza Now“ (with over 239,000 subscribers), a message goes online including a picture documenting the transport of bodies of Israeli soldiers from the contested military positions into the Gaza Strip.

Directly following this, the documentation bridges the gap from the tumultuous outdoor scenes directly into the interior of the building. Between 12:00 and 12:30 PM, Osama Al-Ashi films from his office as the motorcycle with the body of Ran Gvili (who fell in combat near Kibbutz Alumim) arrives – while the CCTV surveillance footage published by the IDF in the exact time window of 10:53 to 11:01 AM reveals the immediate continuation of these processes inside the building:

Video 1

Video 2

At 10:53:11 – 10:53:21 AM (CCTV Part I): The cameras in the entrance area and foyer of al-Shifa Hospital capture plainclothes, partly armed terrorists bringing two hostages inside (whether these are the very first brought into the hospital is unknown). They control the corridors and move purposefully through the hospital hallways while the medical staff reacts willingly. The separation between hospital and terror headquarters seems lifted.

At 10:55:38 – 10:56:02 AM (CCTV Part II): An injured person is maneuvered on a stretcher through the corridors and hallways, accompanied and dominated by the same armed forces that exercise control over the pathways in the building.

At 11:00:36 & 11:01:01 AM: The surveillance cameras document the subsequent phases in the hallways, thereby seamlessly closing the temporal and spatial chain between the street events and admission to the clinic wing.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis: Expanding the Media Staging

Yet the further events of this October 7 also fit seamlessly into this picture. The reports by Hassan Eslaiah, Muthana Al Najjar, and their followers from Nir Oz fit into this pattern just as much as the recordings from the south of Gaza, from Khan Yunis, and Nasser Hospital. Here too, the media staging was implemented exactly according to the same scheme.
Amr Tabash, who worked for international broadcasters like BBC and Al Jazeera among others, filmed and photographed how hostages were transported through the streets of Khan Yunis. Shocking scenes accompanied these transports.

Tabash apparently accompanies this transport from the beginning. The journey also ends here in a medical complex – the second largest in the Gaza Strip, Nasser Hospital. Screenshots from Tabash’s Instagram account prove his timely presence on site. He documents there how incoming wounded terrorists are brought into separate areas of the clinic and also captures the transport of a hostage pictorially. Meanwhile, Tabash has deleted the majority of this material from his account.

Another proof that hostages were also brought to Nasser Hospital is a photo published on a Telegram channel. It shows the Israeli hostage xxx.

Conclusion: The Silence of the Witnesses and Structural Entanglement

What unfolded on the morning of October 7, 2023, in the streets of Gaza, outside the gates of al-Shifa Hospital, and shortly thereafter at Nasser Hospital as well, was no blind coincidence of war, but a meticulously recorded and publicly displayed staging. The unbroken chain of evidence – from recordings at base locations to coordinated transport in jeeps to CCTV footage and reports from clinics – proves that medical facilities served as central hubs and control points of terror from the very beginning.

On-site research paints a clear picture: At al-Shifa Hospital alone, 10 named and 8 unknown „journalists“ were present. At Nasser Hospital, at least one named journalist also filmed and photographed, though an even more intensive investigation must take place here. All these examples share a common pattern: None of these journalists ever reported truthfully on the true events on site. Instead, the footage was concealed, or – if transmitted to agencies on October 7 – provided with deliberately falsified captions to obscure the true location and context.

The investigations into al-Shifa and Nasser Hospital reveal a clear system. They illustrate the fundamental importance of these clinics within Hamas strategy and prove that all participating actors were fully aware of this role. It must be concluded from this that the information from these journalists can hardly be trusted: They specifically passed on what could harm Israel and concealed the obvious. The journalists named here and their immediate environment thus acted as a willing instrument of Hamas propaganda.

At the beginning of the conflict, al-Shifa Hospital in the Rimal district formed the center of this staging before Hamas shifted its structures to the south after the IDF occupation of the north. This forensic investigation breaks years of silence, exposes the actors, and confronts the public with the reality behind Palestinian media reporting.

Concluding Remark