Heartbreaking story behind video of young man burnt to death after Israeli strike

The image of a person burning alive among tents in a hospital compound in Gaza has been widely shared online.

Warning: This story contains details and images readers may find distressing

The video captures the moments after an Israeli strike on al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah on Monday, in which medics said three people were killed and 40 others were wounded.

The person in the flames was 19-year-old Shaban al Dalu. He was just days away from his 20th birthday.

In the footage he appears to be connected to an IV line, though Sky News was unable to independently verify what the object shown is.

Here, Sky News looks at his story, as our analysis reveals the compound had been struck six times this year.

Shaban was sheltering in a tent in the compound of the hospital with his parents and five siblings. In a YouTube video he posted in February speaking from a tent he built, he said they had been displaced five times.

At the time of the strike, Shaban was recovering from an injury he had suffered 10 days ago.

Shaban's 16-year-old brother Mohammed identified him in the video of the fire following the strike.

He told Sky News: "My father was busy with my younger brother so I couldn't help but run towards Shaban to try to help him. People stopped me from getting closer to the danger, saying the civil defence was on its way to put the fire out.

"I kept saying 'but my brother is on fire! My brother is on fire! Please let me go.' They wouldn't let me. My brother was burning in front of my eyes and I couldn't do anything to help him. It's an indescribable feeling."

Their mother, Alaa, was also trapped and died in the inferno.

Shaban, a computer system engineering student, was trying to leave Gaza and had launched a fundraising page online.

"I used to have big dreams, but the war has ruined them. It has taken a toll on me, making me physically and mentally sick... Time feels like it's stopped in Gaza, and we're stuck in a never-ending nightmare," Shaban wrote on his GoFundMe page.

Shaban's 14-year-old cousin Tasnim was also at the compound when the Israeli strike hit. He told Sky News: "I really don't understand what we did to deserve this? We're displaced families. Moving around from one place to the next. That's all we can do. What did we do wrong?"

Satellite pictures taken on Saturday shows dozens of tents or makeshift shelters in the grounds. Many displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in hospital grounds since the start of the war.

The strike has been criticised by UN acting under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, Joyce Msuya, who said "there seems to be no end to the horrors that Palestinians in Gaza are forced to endure".

The Israeli military said it was a "precise strike on terrorists" operating in a "command and control centre" in a car park next to the hospital.

Israel accuses Hamas of using civilian facilities like hospitals for military purposes, which Hamas denies.

IDF international spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, said a "fire ignited" in the hospital's car park after the strike, adding that it was "most likely due to secondary explosions. The incident is under review".

Sky analysis of previous attacks on the compound shows it has been hit six times since the end of March.

The first occurred on 31 March. The IDF hit a location close to the hospital's main building, claiming it was targeting a command centre used by the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad.

As it does now, the affected area was occupied by tents.

The head of the World Health Organization said that strike caused four deaths and 14 injuries.

The compound was hit again on 22 July. The IDF has not made a public statement on this strike.

Video from the scene shows tents reportedly used by journalists on fire. At the time, Associated Press reported that one person was killed.

On 4 August, the IDF targeted another area of the compound. At least five people were reportedly killed.

In comments to the media, the IDF said the strike was targeting a militant in the area.

On 5 September, an Israeli strike hit an area in the west of the compound. While the IDF did not confirm the strike's precise location, it claimed it had targeted a Hamas command centre in the area.

Before Monday, the most recent strike at the hospital compound occurred on 27 September, when an area covered in tents was hit.

While the IDF did not comment publicly on this strike, components of a missile are visible in footage from the scene. Markings on the debris identify it as a Hellfire missile, which are used by Israel and other US allies.

Speaking to Sky News, former US army explosive ordnance disposal technician Trevor Ball said the fragment was from a Hellfire missile.

(c) Sky News 2024: Heartbreaking story behind video of young man burnt to death after Israeli strike