Talk:Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion

Tertiary coverage

@Scharb and Raskolnikov.Rev: regarding this content: The New York Times, Bloomberg News, Al Jazeera, BBC News, and El País also cited Forensic Architecture's analysis ...

It looks like Raskolnikov.Rev is right that the sources do mention FA. That said, they seem like fairly trivial mentions (and in the NYT case, only in a live blog). "Cited" might be a bit misleading, since it seems to imply some kind of corroboration.

Moreover, it's very unusual to list out tertiary coverage (of this trivial sort) like this. There are probably tons of other sources which mention the reports by AP, CNN, etc.; I don't think we should list those either. So I think we should remove this, partly to avoid giving special treatment to FA, and partly just because of its triviality. — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 03:41, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

The New York Times Live Blog reference is RS.

Having said that, this issue has been adjudicated before, and it was decided to include the references because the FA investigation was being challenged for not being RS or noteworthy, with some claiming it was WP:FRINGE, justifying the referencing of their investigation in these various RS outlets in-page.

See particularly the replies by Levivich here, Nableezy here and DFlhb here.

I agree with them and see no reason to change that. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 04:25, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

@Raskolnikov.Rev What you labeled as "adjudication" is intended as a survey, only, and there is no clear decision. Scharb (talk) 21:38, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

I've removed that sentence. It doesn't reflect the FA source, and it was reported on, not cited. BilledMammal (talk) 05:19, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

I've restored, but without saying FA was cited by these outlets and just including what FA found. nableezy - 21:52, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

From the linked survey: Consensus has it that Forensic Architecture's position has been cited widely by reliable sources, and that it therefore is a matter of WP:NPOV to include it. Opposers focused on critiquing FA's reliability, credibility and neutrality, but these arguments were not very successful.

I take it to mean that FA, by itself, has been questioned and the coverage in RS was necessary to be included as a source. Hence, I have made the edit to keep the full references but changing "cited by" to "reported by". CoolAndUniqueUsername (talk) 20:31, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

The close says FA should be included because it's cited by tertiary sources, not that we should cite those tertiary sources. I see how citing the tertiary sources could serve as a reminder to editors that it's significant and shouldn't be deleted, but we can accomplish the same thing in other ways, without distracting readers by listing tertiary sources in prose. For example, we could just have a MOS:COMMENT mentioning the consensus to include it. Or we can just keep all the tertiary coverage as sources, but not mention them in prose. — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 00:15, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

That’s what I did and I think my edit, as always, was perfect in every way. nableezy - 00:35, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

I believe they should be kept as prose in-page for reasons mentioned before and by @CoolAndUniqueUsername. It is hardly distracting to name a few media outlets that reported on the FA analysis in the body of the page. If it is, then the same can be said for the various other outlets who reported the other POV, which can also be truncated by inclusion in sources and reference to "various media outlets reported".

I don't believe that's necessary either, and changing it from "cited" to "reported by" resolves the issue of implying agreement.

I see no reason to remove the long-standing text. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 00:37, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

What is the point of including the prose? The points I see mentioned here are

1. It might be useful as a sort of reminder to editors that it's not WP:FRINGE. But including sources (without prose) already serves that purpose. If there's any remaining concern, we can add a comment too, as an extra reminder to editors without distracting readers.
2. What seems like a misinterpretation of the survey - I don't see any comments actually saying that tertiary sources should be covered, certainly not in the close.

It seems really superfluous and quite unusual. Most sources we cite have tertiary coverage, and many of them have had their inclusion challenged at one point. We almost never list tertiary coverage in prose; why should this be a special case? — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 02:23, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

It seems like the main difference is that you think the first version in the body of the page is somehow distracting to readers, but the second version isn't, and in fact that having a MOS:COMMENT added to the second clarifying the consensus to include is less distracting than just having the first version. I completely disagree with that estimation.

The long-standing version of the text obviates the need for a MOS:COMMENT, it is trimmed and short and not at all distracting to the reader, and serves the purpose of establishing the notability of FA's October 20 analysis by clarifying that it was reported by RS and hence is not some fringe view that was only posted in a social media Twitter/X thread.

That is an additional reason to include it, as that first FA analysis is limited to a Twitter/X thread which may give cause to question its RS nature if it were not however for it being reported on by these various RS outlets, establishing its notability even though its conclusion was at odds with these other RS. So it's important for NPOV to make explicit that it is a notable RS analysis, and again, I believe it's best and not at all distracting to do that in prose in the body of the page rather than by adding a MOS:COMMENT.

1. Forensic Architecture, in an analysis of footage of the blast site as reported by the New York Times, Bloomberg News, BBC News, and El País, disputed Israel's account that it was caused by a rocket from Gaza and concluding instead that it resulted from a munition fired from the northeast, the direction of Israel.
2. Forensic Architecture, in an analysis of footage of the blast site disputed Israel's account that it was caused by a rocket from Gaza and concluding instead that it resulted from a munition fired from the northeast, the direction of Israel. [MOS:COMMENT added mentioning consensus to include it].

Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 02:48, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

I would say superfluous prose is inherently distracting, at least it goes against the succinctness that WP:MOS encourages.

I don't think a comment would even be needed if we're including the inline citations anyway. But if someone feels strongly about needing an extra reminder, a comment would be fine. Concision in user-visible prose is normally a much higher priority than concision in markup.

Re it being a tweet thread, I think you would have a good point if our prose mentioned that. As is, if the reader doesn't look at references, they won't know it's a tweet thread. If they do, they'll see the tertiary coverage anyway. We could aggregate the tweet thread and other sources in one footnote if you want to be sure it's all seen together. — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 03:35, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

I think the fact that there continue to be efforts to remove the FA analysis altogether from the lede because it is deemed to be fringe justifies why the specification of it being notable should be explicitly kept in prose in the body, exactly to counteract such challenges. Perhaps if people on the other side had accepted the notability of the FA analysis and didn't keep trying to get it truncated or removed altogether, I would have agreed with you, not because it is distracting as I don't see that at all, but because there would be no reason for it given the general acceptability of FA as a high quality RS that is due. But unfortunately that's not the case.

Also I'm not sure why the prose having "in an analysis of the blast site posted on Twitter" justifies the inclusion of it in page without violating your readability standard, but if you think that's what can justify its inclusion I'm fine with adding that to the text to resolve the issue of its inclusion. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 03:42, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

Incidentally, looking at the earliest version of the text from October of last year, and how it was in-page for months before it was removed, it did explicitly include that the FA investigation was posted on Twitter, which as I noted and you agreed gives additional justification for the in-page citations. So I have gone ahead and restored that. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 17:05, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

I concur with the views expressed by @CoolAndUniqueUsername and @Raskolnikov.Rev that any legitimate concerns regarding the text have been adequately addressed through clarification with the phrase "reported by." Therefore, the inclusion of this information on the page is justified, particularly in light of the ongoing challenges to Forensic Architecture's analysis as not meeting the criteria for being due and reliable, as evidenced by @Scharb's persistent efforts to have it removed on those grounds.

Furthermore, I believe that these sources should also be referenced in prose in the lead section for the same rationale, establishing that it is indeed due, and essential to include to ensure WP:BALANCE. Lf8u2 (talk) 13:30, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

Please don't misrepresent me, I am seeking to have it reworded and deemphasized or moved to the body, on the grounds it doesn't match the sources. --Scharb (talk) 20:03, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

@XDanielx I put forth this exact same argument over at Talk:Israel–Hamas_war/Archive_46#'October 17' section. Putting these sources in prose for what you've accurately noted as rather trivial mentions is just not the way sources are cited on Wikipedia - and doing so is largely at odds with the guideline for in-text attribution.

However, I was outvoted in that discussion, and some personal stuff came up - with both of those factors, I determined the issue just wasn't worth my time pressing any longer.

There is currently an open case request to ArbCom, in which many editors express the same frustrations with this topic area as I've had in engaging in that discussion - primarily for me, finding "local consensus" among whichever editors decide to show up at a talk page to contravene "vulnerable" consensus established elsewhere, like in our Guidelines. I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in feeling the pain here, and I hope something is done about it. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 15:05, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

To be fair that discussion didn't exactly go as you're presenting it here: You initially argued that FA was a primary source and should therefore not be cited at all, then you moved to saying it might be cited, but without the RS being attributed in-page after you included the references to the other POV because you believe that that side is more reliable because it has Western intelligence agencies that confirm it. Consensus was reached that this was not persuasive. I think the issue is that you and others on "your side" so to say simply do not believe that FA is a credible high quality source, and is instead a fringe biased against Israel source that pales in comparison to the CIA and Pentagon. That is just a fundamental disagreement we have that has to be hashed out with reasoned arguments, and I have presented the best ones I have at my disposal for why I disagree with that. And again it is why I believe in-page citation of the RS that reported on FA's investigation is warranted. I actually wish it wouldn't be.

Right now you again made the argument in the RfC that you believe FA is fringe, it violates DUE to include its investigations to the extent they are both in the lede and body, and you want to have that trimmed significantly, again expressing how you feel about it as a source, and why it should be established that it is in fact a high quality RS in-page. Again, I wish it didn't have to be.

But I agree with you that there is a persistent problem in this topic area of finding local consensus among whichever editors happen to show up in contravention of consensus established elsewhere like in the guidelines, as is being done here at the moment and was being done in that discussion as well, though I'm sure we disagree about which side is primarily engaged in this. It is indeed incredibly frustrating, and I too hope something can be done about it. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 15:34, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

You don't have to summarize the entire discussion from the beginning every time. Discussions evolve over time, and in a healthy discussion, positions change with the introduction of new information. Trying over and over again to play "gotcha" with me for things already hashed out is disruptive deflection, not to mention quite rude.

And in your long summation above, you again failed to engage with my current point here - that in-text attribution like this goes against Guidelines, and is thus uncommon everywhere on Wikipedia. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 16:26, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

I think the bottom line here is that article prose is written for the reader, not for editors. There are may other ways of conveying a message like "before removing, be aware of X and Y" to editors without interfering with prose:

• MOS:COMMENTs
• Talk page notices
• Extra references (which I'm okay with keeping even if they're extraneous)
• Just watchlisting the page (as many of us have done) and reminding others if occasionally necessary

— xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 04:50, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

@XDanielx These tools clearly aren't working because of the constant efforts to remove Forensic Architecture's analysis from the page – even though we have regular Talk reminders that it is RS by those watching the page and the many sources establishing that it is RS. I agree with Rask et al that while I wish it wasn't something we needed to include in page (though I disagree about the impact on readability; the current lede lists multiple news outlets one after the other and nobody has raised a similar issue) the fact that it continues to be challenged justifies its inclusion.

Maybe we can revisit this after the RFC below is completed and it is firmly established that FA's investigation is worthy of inclusion in both body and lede, especially after a few stable months without additional challenges. (One can only hope.) On the other hand if the RFC results in removing the information from the lede, then that further bolsters the argument to keep the RS in-text to justify FA's inclusion there. (And likewise hopefully avoid another round of this same argument.) Smallangryplanet (talk) 10:12, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

This is Wikipedia - you'll never be able to completely stop people coming to new articles, and editing them as they see fit. What you can do is put up guardrails, all of which xDanielx mentioned above I think are good choices. And if they fail, you can have talk page discussion, or have the editor blocked for disruption if they won't collaborate, or whatever. That's just life here. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 15:19, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

In addition to PhotogenicScientist's point, most of this hasn't even been tried. A comment would probably be even more effective than extraneous prose - editors tend to take them seriously since they're explicit messages to them. Feel free to propose a talk page notice as well.

Sure there will probably continue to be disputes related to FA, but it's not because editors are unaware of tertiary coverage. E.g. BilledMammal was clearly aware of tertiary coverage, but sought to remove the sentence anyway for different reasons. — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 15:54, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

You do not have consensus to remove this long-standing text, there is an ongoing Talk discussion on it with four editors expressing support for keeping it and four against, and again the very fact that there is an ongoing RfC to have FA's October 20 investigation removed entirely or trimmed significantly, with the support PhotogenicScientist, demonstrates why it should not be. In any case there is no reason to not wait for the conclusion of the ongoing RfC to remove long-standing text that has been there since October of last year. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 16:38, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

You do not have consensus to remove Using "no consensus" as your main opposition, or leading off with it, is profoundly unhelpful, and is discouraged.

remove this long-standing text age of article content is an incredibly weak reason to keep it. And article content only has such weak "presumed consensus" until it is disputed or reverted - which has happened.

the very fact that there is an ongoing RfC to have FA's October 20 investigation removed entirely... demonstrates why it should not be And though Wikipedia is WP:NOTCENSORED, we don't include material simply because "people want to exclude it" - all material in articles must be able to stand on their own merit and be P&G-compliant. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 17:01, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

WP:DRNC is for edit messages regarding topics where the only thing someone has to say is that there's 'no consensus', when as you can clearly see from this talk page is not the case. Smallangryplanet (talk) 17:10, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

I did not only cite lack of consensus, I gave substantive reasoning; the "presumed consensus" is being established as active consensus in talk as of now in the ongoing RfC, in fact I cited that as the main reason to justify its inclusion. I also in line with Wiki guidelines made a compromise edit in line with Daniel's prior stated position on what could hopefully resolve the issue pending the RfC. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 17:14, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

The RFC is specifically handling the question of whether FA should be mentioned in the lead at all. Here, we're discussing the decidedly odd prose formulation of citing RS in-text for routine coverage, in the article body. Nobody up here is looking to get FA removed from the article - if you want to discuss that point, head on down to that thread. Here, please try to stay on the topic xDanielx and I have brought up. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 17:54, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

I agree, the article is written for the reader and not for editors. As a reader, I find it helpful to note that reputable news organizations have covered the analysis done by what seems like a non-descript research group. I see WP:MOS being cited for succinctness but also see that the MOS asks for succinctness in language, not in terms of removing material information. If anything, it improves readability to know that a Wikipedia article isn't relying on a tweet instead of having to open multiple tabs to learn about what FA is.

I also agree with the ideas put forward by planet and Raskolnikov in terms of how there's a constant effort to remove FA's analysis. Let's see how the RFC turns out, but perhaps a 3rd alternative is to center the article on FA's analysis while also using language that leaves no doubt about the authoritative investigative journalism that the organization engages in. CoolAndUniqueUsername (talk) 15:21, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

I find it helpful to note that reputable news organizations have covered the analysis this can be fully accomplished with WP:CITATIONS. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 15:22, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

Do you support removing the listing of various media outlets from the lede by name because it's cumbersome to have it in prose, especially so since it's in the lede, and it serves no real purpose because it's already in the citations and no one is contesting them so there's no real reason to have them listed by name?

How about truncating the naming of each intelligence agency that concluded it was a misfired rocked in the lede and merely listing them in the citations?

Do you think we should include the Al Jazeera investigation to the lede that agreed with FA's analysis? Do you think Earshot should be mentioned separately as cited in the New Yorker? They're separate organizations with independent investigations, so why should the others all be named in-text, but not these? Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 16:52, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

That's one hell of a false equivalence you've set up there, between organizations who have performed their own analyses and assessments of the situation (defense departments, other RS, etc), and organizations who have simply mentioned that an organization has performed an analysis and assessment of the situation (Bloomberg News, Al Jazeera, BBC News, and El País). PhotogenicScientist (talk) 17:57, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

Moreover, many of your myriad of additional questions have been asked before, by you, and answered by me, in this not-too-old thread. Do you really think it's worth either of our times to WP:BLUDGEON each other with questions we should both know the answer to? PhotogenicScientist (talk) 18:00, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

To be clear, Al Jazeera's investigative unit conducted its own independent investigation, as did Earshot as cited in the New Yorker. That's why I said: "They're separate organizations with independent investigations, so why should the others all be named in-text, but not these?"

To answer that question myself, the reason they're not all cited in the lede as of now is because we agreed to a compromise to only cite Channel 4 and FA so as to give both POV equal weight as determined by length (though the other POV is still longer).

The result of that has been that there's an ongoing attempt to minimize, truncate if not remove entirely FA's investigations from the lede with the argument that it is not due and fringe. That is how this connects to the ongoing RfC, which is exactly about establishing whether it is fringe or not.

You're right about avoiding asking repetitive questions as it serves no purpose, but I will ask one more that is I think pertinent here: Why have you not supported keeping the FA 20 October investigation in the lede as is? You said here that you don't believe it is a fringe source that is not due and have no desire to remove it from the body of the page, so why should it not be reflected in the lede given that it was reported by these various RS? The readability case, which as I have tried to show is not plausible, doesn't apply there. In fact you have argued that it should be truncated or removed from the lede because it is not due and fringe. Incidentally Daniel also has yet to express support for keeping it in the lede.

So again, this is how the two connect, as others have noted as well. If it was indeed firmly established and accepted that FA's investigations, including the October 20 one, are high quality RS, both by the record of its own work as well as backed by the fact that it is deemed notable enough to receive RS coverage, there would be no ongoing attempt to remove it from the lede with the argument that it is actually fringe and not due. There is no readability case for the lede. In fact this is why I am sympathetic to @Lf8u2's argument that the lede should also include the in-page references to the various high quality RS that reported on FA's October 20 investigation, but hopefully the RfC can settle the matter. And I agree with @CoolAndUniqueUsername and others that if the RfC establishes consensus for its inclusion in the lede, thereby establishing that it is a high quality RS that is due and not fringe, and there are no further challenges to it for some time, it might make sense to revisit this, although with the recent compromise to clarify that it was a Twitter thread it still makes sense to keep it on those grounds. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 01:10, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

@Lf8u2: can you explain your revert? Do you have an argument for a reminder to Wikipedia editors needs to be in reader-facing article prose, and not a comment or what not? — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 03:05, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

@Raskolnikov.Rev: I see you also reverted, but I'm still not seeing any argument for why a comment wouldn't suffice and let us remove the superfluous prose. Certainly not by "by multiple editors"; I only see a single reply of yours with the word "comment". That reply said that "the text obviates the need" for a comment, but likewise a comment obviates the need for the superfluous prose. We normally prioritize concision in reader-facing prose over concision in markup; why should we do the opposite here? — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 00:30, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

There are four editors, including myself, who have opposed its removal and have given arguments for it, as you can read here, here, here, here, and here.

Moreover, as can be read in those posts, two compromises have been made since this talk was started. "Cited by" was replaced with "reported by", as the former may imply agreement. And "posted on Twitter" was re-added as a further compromise which you said was a good reason to keep the in-page prose: Re it being a tweet thread, I think you would have a good point if our prose mentioned that. As is, if the reader doesn't look at references, they won't know it's a tweet thread.

But if we simply can't agree on this then it's best to go ahead and start an RFC to resolve it. I was hoping to avoid that until at least the ongoing RFC on including FA's October analysis in the lede was resolved, but if we can't wait for that and editors insist on trying to remove it, it's best to proceed with that. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 00:51, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Consensus isn't a vote, and there has been nowhere near the strength of argument required to override the prior consensus established by WP:CITATION to not do exactly this. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 00:58, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

There is no established consensus under WP:CITATION that prohibits the inclusion of such content. It is a matter of style contingent upon context. In this case, considering the ongoing and persistent efforts to challenge the credibility of the Forensic Architecture's analysis from October 20, it is entirely reasonable to retain this. Lf8u2 (talk) 04:46, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

It's right there at WP:INTEXT

Here's a shockingly similar example to this of what not to do:

N According to The New York Times, the sun will set in the west this evening.

Y The sun sets in the west each evening.

PhotogenicScientist (talk) 16:26, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

You are misrepresenting the guidance found in WP:INTEXT.

The example you reference is discouraged not due to any readability concerns raised regarding its inclusion, but because it is deemed "misleading", as is stated above the example you provided: "The sentence below suggests The New York Times has alone made this important discovery".

This reasoning does not apply to the current situation. The content here consists of reliable sources reporting on Forensic Architecture's analysis published on Twitter/X. That by itself is good grounds for inclusion.

In fact, the opposite to your claim regarding WP:INTEXT is the case: It recommends that including in-line references "may also be used when loosely summarizing a source's position in your own words." WP:INTEXT further states that it is "preferable not to clutter articles with information best left to the references."

This establishes a stylistic guideline, rather than a rigid requirement, and it is conditional on the determination of whether the information is indeed better suited for citation rather than inclusion in the article text. This clearly establishes that there are valid grounds for using in-line references contingent on specific context, and these have been provided here by myself and others in this discussion.

To reiterate: There is no established consensus under WP:CITATION that prohibits the inclusion of such content. It is a matter of style contingent upon context. In this case, considering the ongoing and persistent efforts to challenge the credibility of the Forensic Architecture's analysis from October 20, it is entirely reasonable to retain this.

Your reversion and its accompanying edit summary were based on a misrepresentation of WP:INTEXT. There is no such "prior consensus established" by it. I urge you and others to avoid engaging in Wikipedia:Edit warring and to await consensus on this matter. Lf8u2 (talk) 19:13, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

WP:INTEXT further states that it is "preferable not to clutter articles with information best left to the references." How you can quote this yourself, without realizing you're trying to do the opposite of what this recommends, is just beyond me.

This establishes a stylistic guideline No, WP:CITATION is, in fact, not simply MOS. It's a content guideline. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 14:26, 8 November 2024 (UTC)

I wasn't suggesting that we mention it's a tweet thread; for the reader that just adds more noise. I meant that hypothetically if we had to for some reason, then it might be an argument for mentioning tertiary coverage. — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 17:05, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

I already explained my reasoning here, but happy to repeat: "I concur with the views expressed by @CoolAndUniqueUsername and @Raskolnikov.Rev that any legitimate concerns regarding the text have been adequately addressed through clarification with the phrase "reported by." Therefore, the inclusion of this information on the page is justified, particularly in light of the ongoing challenges to Forensic Architecture's analysis as not meeting the criteria for being due and reliable, as evidenced by @Scharb's persistent efforts to have it removed on those grounds.

Furthermore, I believe that these sources should also be referenced in prose in the lead section for the same rationale, establishing that it is indeed due, and essential to include to ensure WP:BALANCE."

In addition to that, since I made my comment a compromise was added to the text - "posted on Twitter" - further justifying its inclusion in prose, which you also conceded. Lf8u2 (talk) 04:17, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

I'm still not seeing a single argument for why a comment in the markup wouldn't be at least as effective for conveying a message to editors. — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 17:08, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

There are several well-reasoned arguments.

Regarding the statement, "I wasn't suggesting that we mention it's a tweet thread; for the reader that just adds more noise. I meant that hypothetically if we had to for some reason, then it might be an argument for mentioning tertiary coverage"

This is not a hypothetical situation, as the Twitter specification is present on the page per compromise. Therefore, there is an additional, valid rationale for the in-line inclusion of these references. Lf8u2 (talk) 19:30, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

This seems circular - you seem to be arguing that we need to list tertiary coverage to balance out the mention of Twitter, and vice versa. Why not remove both?

The non-circular part of the argument seemed to be that listing tertiary sources was useful as a hint to editors, but I have yet to hear an argument for why a comment wouldn't serve the same purpose. — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 20:06, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

The argument is not circular, as it represents one of several well-reasoned and valid justifications for inclusion put forward by various editors, as evidenced in the discussion.

Furthermore, your characterization of these arguments is incorrect; they do not solely rely on being a "hint to editors."

However, no well-reasoned argument has been provided for its removal. Lf8u2 (talk) 20:43, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

So, what is the argument for expanding the prose to include both (tertiary coverage + Twitter) rather than neither?

You wrote inclusion of this information on the page is justified, particularly in light of the ongoing challenges to Forensic Architecture's analysis .... I thought you were saying that listing secondary coverage would hint to editors that the report is significant and probably shouldn't be removed. If not, what did you mean? — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 20:51, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Once more, there are several well-reasoned and valid justifications for inclusion, as put forward by various editors, as reflected in the discussion.

Here is an overview of these justifications (1,2,3,4,5).

Your point concerning readability has been effectively countered by these arguments, which offer compelling reasons for inclusion.

Moreover, it is noteworthy that Forensic Architecture's analysis was published on Twitter/X, supporting its inclusion, and by extension, the inclusion of the associated references. Lf8u2 (talk) 21:26, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

You're not addressing my point that even noting the tweet is outdated and misrepresents sources (aside from being undue weight and puffery of a non-RS) as Forensic Architecture's February piece stated the cause of the blast was inconclusive and the October 2024 interview didn't include any relevant "analysis."

An up-to-date and accurate summary of FA's position would note FA's continued criticism of the Israeli government's PR defense on the night of the blast. No RS has stated it might have been a mortar in a very long time, especially not anyone who knows what a mortar looks like and has seen the video coverage from all four angles.

There is no RS that currently stands by the view that Israel was responsible, and even the non-RS Forensic Architecture doesn't hold by this. Every analysis that placed the projectile focused on in the AJ video as originating in Israeli territory also ruled it out as the cause of the blast.

(The Wall Street Journal's dissenting analysis also concluded the rocket had a final trajectory that was westbound, or "from the East" even though it was launched from Gaza. They presented their own 3D trajectory showing the rocket's path, like many home-made rockets, chaotically looped back towards its origin instead of following a clean parabola predictable by Goddard's equations.)

FA not an RS

Forensic Architecture's inadequate retraction of its earlier statements and assumptions is on account of being held to the standards of artists and activists, whose pieces are displayed in museums, not a scientific or journalistic organization.

Their "analyses" are absolutely self-published and not peer-reviewed.

They're actually just art pieces, approximate recreations made in Blender by people without relevant (e.g. physics, engineering) qualifications.

FA is not RS, it's a biased source and should be noted as such, and its importance and qualifications should not be overstated or made prominent in the lead.

Proposed change

I'm not proposing removing it.

I propose instead that the entire FA part in the lead should be moved to the body, under its own subsection under "Analysis" and summarized in the lead as:

Some groups, such as the pro-Palestinian NGO Forensic Architecture, have continued to dispute the IDF's account.

This is an accurate summary of all three pieces.

(FA's latter two pieces primarily focus on Israel's PR response.)

The body text should then accurately summarize all three pieces, prioritizing the latter findings as characterizing its current position. It should also include either the BBC's note of the deleted tweet OR the tweet, if it's still live.

--Scharb (talk) 23:16, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

FA is absolutely an RS, and your claim that it is not is based on nothing. Their analysis on past attacks have been widely cited and they have an excellent reputation. And your proposed framing of them as a pro-Palestinian NGO is absurd, besides the fact that we don't preface United States with "Israel-ally", we dont attempt to poison the well with labels when we have articles on what we are labeling. Your personal opinions on the value of their work are just that, personal, and as such they have zero bearing on whether or not FA is reliable. nableezy - 23:32, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

RFC on inclusion of Forensic Architecture in lede

Should the following sentence be added to the lede?

In its investigation on 20 October 2023, Forensic Architecture concluded the blast was the result of a munition fired from the direction of Israel

04:22, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

Survey

• Oppose. Reliable sources are in broad agreement that PIJ is probably responsible for the explosion, and including details of this tweet would worsen the NPOV problem currently present in the lede, where we are already giving excess emphasis to the view that PIJ is probably not responsible - it is important to avoid WP:FALSEBALANCE.

In addition, it would result in us having excessive coverage of a the views of a single partisan organization (demonstrated by the tweet chain, which uses "IOF", a pejorative term for the IDF) in the lede. Currently, the lede includes details of two of their investigations; we don't need to include a third saying much the same thing.

Finally, the proposed wording isn't aligned with the majority of provided sources, or the tweet itself, which says that the munition was fired from the north-east without specifying Israel. BilledMammal (talk) 04:22, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

• Support Forensic Architecture is a high quality RS, its October 20 analysis was cited in other high quality RS including the New York Times twice (1 and 2), BBC, Bloomberg News, El Pais and Al Jazeera, establishing its notability. And the sentence in the lede accurately matches the cited sources for FA's analysis and conclusion:

BBC: The Forensic Architecture agency, a UK-based organisation which investigates human rights abuses, has carried out its own analysis of the crater, and suggests it is more consistent with the impact marks from an artillery shell which it concludes came from the direction of Israel.

New York Times: Forensic Architecture, a London-based visual investigation group, disputed the Israeli account, saying that the munition had been fired from the direction of Israel.

It is also simply not true that FA itself did not mention the direction of Israel. @BilledMammal cited the wrong tweet, the correct one in the chain does explicitly say that the munition came from "the direction of the Israeli-controlled side of the Gaza perimeter—and not from the west."

It would be a violation of NPOV to arbitrarily remove a high quality RS cited by other high quality RS merely because some disagree with its conclusion. That would actually be in violation of WP:BALANCE and WP:NPOV. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 04:51, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

You misunderstand. It's not about the reliability of the sources, it's about the weight of the view. If three reliable sources say X, and ten reliable sources say Y, then to comply with WP:DUE and WP:BALASP we give Y three times the weight of X.

This can be seen not just looking across sources, but at individual sources. For example, your El Pais source dedicates about 80% of its coverage to the theory that PIJ was responsible. We need to do the same, and to do otherwise is WP:FALSEBALANCE. BilledMammal (talk) 05:03, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

I think you misunderstand. You have already stated that you believe Forensic Architecture to be a biased, fringe source unfair to Israel, and that is why you want to have its analysis removed from the lede even though it is a high quality RS specifically on the question of analyzing events such as these with high quality experts. To dismiss its investigation and conclusion even though it was notable enough to be reported by high quality RS merely because you do not believe they are a high quality RS, is I think a fundamentally mistaken view of WP:NPOV and WP:BALANCE.

It should be added that there are other RS that dispute the Israeli account which are not included in the lede, such as Al Jazeera's investigation and Earshot as cited in the New Yorker. It is simply not true that FA is by itself on one side, and every other RS is on the other. Both are significant views, and must be given their due weight to satisfy WP:NPOV. And it should be added that the other side remains overrepresented both in the lede and body, and removing this high quality RS analysis unduly exacerbates that.

Here are some other RS that cites FA's October 20 analysis:

1. https://www.dw.com/en/gaza-hospital-blast-what-investigations-have-revealed-so-far/a-67237447
2. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/10/israel-hamas-war-everything-we-know-about-the-gaza-hospital-blast.html
3. https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1354611/une-semaine-apres-ce-que-lon-sait-de-la-frappe-sur-lhopital-al-ahli-arab.html
4. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-palestine-war-gaza-hospital-bombing-truth-important-distraction

Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 05:16, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

You misunderstand my intention, but that's my fault, I should have been clear about my proposed fixes. I don't want FA entirely removed, I do agree it's notable and verifiable, but I want that the content should reflect the sources and not be given undue weight. As I mentioned, even biased sources are RS for their own opinion.

The discussion at hand isn't whether to include or exclude FA, but rather to make the wikitext match FA's claims and then to reassess its notability and place in the article. The content occupying so much "last word" real estate in the lede gives the false impression FA's analysis contradicts or overrides the pithily summarized RS analyses. (And FA isn't a "high quality" RS, previous consensus to 'include' FA largely depended on users who said it should be included despite its biases, and I expect there will be another discussion of its reliability at another time.)

---

Once again, keeping in mind that nearly all up-to-date RS agree that rocket #3 in the AJ video turned out to be unrelated to the blast:

DW: Channel 4 concluded in its report that the image analysis of the crater done by Forensic Architecture, a research agency based at the University of London, matched the audio analysis of the missile track. According to them, the rocket that was used had been fired from the northeast and not from the southwest of Gaza, as the IDF says.

NYM: The OSINT group Forensic Architecture has suggested the munition originated from the direction of Israel and may have been an Israeli artillery shell."

MEE (op-ed): Next, Forensic Architecture and Al-Haq dug in, finding the projectile likely came from the north.

Since the discussion at hand is the misrepresentation of sources, it would have behooved you to drop quotes instead of more sources, expecting me to dig through the articles and find the quotations that support your argument. Instead, not a single one made the claim you stated.

These are outdated sources and they do not match your claim, the closest they come is saying "FA suggested it may have been an Israeli artillery shell", a claim subsequently disproven by engineers, physicists, and military analysts who noted that artillery shells don't move like that, and the artillery shell theory was quietly dropped from the current version of FA's October analysis. FA is an artistic project, but if it were scientific, surely it would have been transparent about these changes.

The February FA analysis explicitly states in its text that it doesn't contradict the NYT and other analyses–– and its supposedly notable viewpoint is the reason for the lengthy description of it in the lede instead of the body, while RS presenting the majority view (Palestinian origin or inconclusive) are relegated to a single sentence–– and both the FA text and secondary sources such as the New Yorker profile explicitly state that FA did not find that Israel was responsible for the blast. See above quotes.

But the lede not only misrepresents FA's findings, but engages in puffery thereof.

1. FA's analysis should be accurately characterized. The source does not claim that Israel is responsible for the blast, which directly contradicts the text in the wiki.

2. FA's analysis, which directly states it corroborates the analyses of NYT and WaPo, should not be given undue weight as though it is a fresh and different perspective. Currently, all other RS' analyses are pithily summarized in a single sentence, and FA's analysis are given undue weight and peacocking.

3. FA currently occupies much valuable real estate at the end of the lede, as though it is the "final word" and disproves the previous RS in-depth analyses.

3a. Why is the interview with the doctor being emphasized? Move it down to the body.

4. FA should not be given great weight or treated as a "high quality RS." I note that previous consensuses for 'include' depended on votes who noted it was a biased source. I am prepared to dispute its value as an RS for anything except its opinions, but that's not for this time.

In a while, I'll concretely propose a change that fits these. Scharb (talk) 18:03, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose. The bottom line on this shouldn't leave so much up for grabs. When most of the reliable sources agree that something is the case, and a minority viewpoint has limited support, we should also limit weight for the minority view. If reliable sources broadly agree that the source of the blast didn't originate from Israel, giving so much credence to the "alternative fact" that it may have is problematic at best. While it may be that there is enough of a controversy to WP:ATTRIBUTEPOV the views of Forensic Architecture, simply because they are an academic source doesn't make their weight override all of the other reliable sources that don't doubt the ultimate attribution of the rocket attack is unlikely to be Israeli. If I thought that there were a wide variety of other sources that agreed with Forensic Architecture, I would change my view. I also think Forensic Architecture should really be considered something like a primary source investigation, and not a review or a summarization, being close to the events in time, and changing over time. We should favor the more recent summaries over the at-the-time innovative journalism. Andre🚐 05:13, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

• Support. For the reasons @Raskolnikov.Rev mentions, and because I think in addition to WP:DUE, it's important to remember that we're looking at an article lede here, where content inclusion is subject to relative importance to the subject (MOS:LEADREL). In this case this information provided by FA is crucial to the subject, clearly cited and used by many and varied other RS, and gives the reader important information about the possible causes of the blast. The lede is not the right place to consider simply the most recent (MOS:NOTLEDE) information, unless of course that information brings new things to light that are also covered in the body of the article itself. Remember, we aren't here to decide what caused the blast. Removing this line would deprive a reader of important context, regardless of what individual editors personally think happened here. Smallangryplanet (talk) 13:10, 29 October 2024 (UTC)
• Support - I do not find this matter to be even remotely controversial. The investigation conducted by Forensic Architecture is, in itself, deserving of inclusion in the lead section, regardless of whether it has been reported by other reputable sources, given the organization's prominence and expertise. Furthermore, the fact that this investigation has been covered by reliable sources as a significant perspective underscores the necessity of its inclusion in the lead.

Indeed, as I have noted regarding its description within the body of the text, the lead should explicitly reference the various reliable sources that have reported on Forensic Architecture's investigation, thereby establishing its notability.Lf8u2 (talk) 13:40, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

Prominence and expertise? It has had fleeting mentions in RS, sure, but its contributors have their qualifications in Architectural Design or Fine Arts, yet their work would be better suited to physicists, engineers, and military experts. Scharb (talk) 18:06, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

regardless of whether it has been reported by other reputable sources Yeah, I disagree with this part. Their being cited by established RS like The New Yorker is fundamental in establishing any sort of reliability for them. I had not heard of them before, and I too have reservations giving too much credibility to a group otherwise referred to as "the artists bringing activism into and beyond gallery spaces." PhotogenicScientist (talk) 19:50, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose The problem is not just that FA is a biased source, not just that its "experts" are architects, artists and activists working outside their fields on questions that should be for engineers, physicists and military analysts; not just that its analyses are not science, and not accountable or peer-reviewed; and has been given undue weight across ARBPIA on Wikipedia so much that it risks turning this site into "Forensic Archipedia";

The more glaring problem is that the content does not match the source. In the current versions of FA's October analysis and February analysis, at absolutely no point does FA claim that the blast was caused by Israel. Not one supporter has found a quote that proves as much. In a New Yorker profile, the February project was summarized as: {The investigation was not meant to prove that Israel had destroyed Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. It is still unclear what caused the explosion. Not one single user has provided any quoted text from RS that supports the currently inaccurate text on the Wiki.

The October 2024 article doesn't make this claim either. It just interviews the Palestinian doctor who immediately rearranged corpses in front of a podium, rolled cameras, and blamed it on Israel within a few minutes of the blast. This doesn't tell us anything new, either, it was literally the first thing anyone outside the hospital heard of this whole thing. An interview with a doctor is not lede-worthy and should be moved to the body.

On 17 October 2023, a devastating explosion took place in the courtyard of al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 471 people were killed and 342 injured. In the hours after the explosion, doctors who treated the wounded held a news conference at nearby al-Shifa Hospital, among the bodies of some of those killed in the blast. There, the British-Palestinian surgeon Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah spoke, flanked by colleagues. ‘This is a massacre’, said Dr Abu-Sittah, before predicting that ‘more hospitals will be targeted’. The only thing this proves is that the doctor who held that press conference still blames Israel. In the rest of the article, they digitally recreate his route that day and compile some statistics about the war's toll on hospitals. They do continue to editorialize about Israel's role in the information war that day, ignoring the (overwhelming) falsehoods by other actors that day and Hamas' likely coverup of physical evidence. There is no visual analysis of the rocket in the October 2024 article. The only thing the October 2024 interview proves is that the doctor who held that press conference still blames Israel. And once it is correctly described, it won't be notable enough for the lede, barely enough for the body. does not match sources

 --Scharb (talk) 18:36, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose. Forensic Architecture is affiliated with the PFLP-linked NGO Al-Haq; this is a fringe viewpoint rejected by most reliable sources. Whizkin (talk) 20:01, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

  "PFLP-linked" by Israel. Should we disregard the UN too since they are, according to Israel, a terror organization that collaborates with Hamas? - Ïvana (talk) 21:26, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

• Support - this has already been discussed before and it was determined that it was due for inclusion when they had a single investigation; now they have three. FA is also not a primary source (that was, again, discussed before so I won't repeat the same arguments again). I'm not sure how it can be up for discussion that they said the munition came from Israel; that has been reported by other RS and themselves. Their findings are pretty clear. The NPOV issue would arise if we removed an investigation (which is also not the only one putting doubt into the rocket claim, Channel 4 does as well, plus AJ and Earshot per Raskolnikov; these are not in the lead) that has been cited by multiple RS, showing it clearly has WP:WEIGHT and it is WP:DUE for inclusion. I also don't think WP:FRINGE applies. It is not unusual for it to be a dominant view (based on independent reporting, government agencies are not independent) but when the "minority" is consistently covered by RS, we should do it as well. I also don't know why you're framing it as a tweet when it is a full report. Three, in fact. And regarding them being a WP:PARTISAN source: they are not required to be unbiased. I'm also not sure why multiple comments disregard their expertise. I'm gonna simply quote Nableezy from the previous RfC since he's way more articulated than me: "the claims of no expertise are just so blatantly false, and proven false on this talk page, that I am astonished that they are repeated here. Their report on Israeli usage of white phosphorous, commissioned by Yesh Gvul, was cited by Human Rights Watch. Architect Magazine reported on their presenting findings related to that report to a UN panel in 2012. They reported with Amnesty International on Israeli attacks on Rafah in 2014. They have expertise not just in the wider field, but in reporting on Gaza and Israel". Their website lists all of their awards and their about page says Our team includes architects, software developers, filmmakers, investigative journalists, scientists, and lawyers so I'm not sure why they are simply referred to as an "artistic project". - Ïvana (talk) 21:51, 29 October 2024 (UTC)
• Support - and all the complaints about FA being fringe have already been proven false, a noteworthy viewpoint widely covered in reliable sources by an organization that has an established expertise in the topic of violence in the Arab-Israeli conflict is definitionally not fringe. BilledMammal's claim that Reliable sources are in broad agreement that PIJ is probably responsible for the explosion is not true, and FA being a widely cited source about it is proof that it is not true. That is an attempt to claim one contested POV is the correct one and only allow that POV to be included. That is antithetical to the entire point of NPOV, which says contested claims should not be treated as fact and all significant views must be included. FA's analysis is significant by dint of it's coverage in other reliable sources. As such it must be included. nableezy - 22:51, 29 October 2024 (UTC)
• Support - We have discussed this before. What exactly has changed since then? Here's the closer's comments: Consensus has it that Forensic Architecture's position has been cited widely by reliable sources, and that it therefore is a matter of WP:NPOV to include it. Opposers focused on critiquing FA's reliability, credibility and neutrality, but these arguments were not very successful.. A lot of the arguments being made in opposition seem to be dwelling into WP:NOR territory. The fact remains that FA has been deemed a high quality secondary source and, additionally, has gotten coverage in WP:RS (the number of which has only increased since the original RFC). CoolAndUniqueUsername (talk) 16:09, 2 November 2024 (UTC)
• Support - Agree with Nableezy's reasoning honestly. Bluethricecreamman (talk) 16:55, 30 October 2024 (UTC)
• Oppose. Lacks weight and reputation, and contradicted by reputable sources. FA is a pro-Palestinian advocacy group with no real expertise in warfare. Researcher (Hebrew: חוקרת) (talk) 13:03, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

Strong support The False Balance argument does not hold any weight, since the policy states that: "unaccepted theories should not be legitimized through comparison to accepted academic scholarship." This is not an analogous situation; this is actually entirely the other way around. Forensic Architecture is the academic assessment, while the other assessments are by governments who have a conflict of interest considering their geopolitical status such as the United States. Furthermore, no source so far has explicitly debunked FA's findings, to the best of my knowledge. So the policy does not apply here at all. There is no reason why this should not be included in the lede. Makeandtoss (talk) 13:49, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

I'm also in support for this reason. Arguments about FA's reliability have largely been rebutted but there has been comparatively little analysis of the fact that the RS who contradict FA's analysis are all uncritically reporting government intelligence by Western nations with conflicts of interest. These reports are less verifiable and accountable than FA's since they don't "show their work." Western RS are reporting Western intelligence agencies' claims on the basis of their authority and have no or a limited ability to verify their accuracy. I would think that not just notability but verifiability should play a role in our determination of weight. Unbandito (talk) 22:02, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Well put. Lewisguile (talk) 18:38, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose. In their reports published in 2024 FA do not say that the blast was due to a munition that came from Israel. Instead they said that what happened was inconclusive. We should prefer more up-to-date sources. Also, we know that FA changed their mind in November and edited their previous tweet [1] so this is another indication that their initial findings might have been inaccurate. Alaexis_¿question? 20:39, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

  That analysis says "[The Israeli military claims that] Footage of a mid-air explosion before the blast shows the misfired Palestinian rocket that allegedly struck al-Ahli. According to our analysis, this footage in fact shows an exploding Israeli interceptor." VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 19:56, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

  Says "an Israeli interceptor, unrelated to the al-Ahli blast," doesn't it?

  In addition to saying "what happened at al-Ahli remains inconclusive." PhotogenicScientist (talk) 20:53, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

  Full quote: "While what happened at al-Ahli remains inconclusive, it is clear that in the aftermath of the explosion, the Israeli military launched an aggressive disinformation campaign. As it stands, Israel has yet to provide any conclusive visual evidence to support the claim that the source of the deadly blast at al-Ahli hospital was a Hamas or PIJ rocket." VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 17:07, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

  Also, Raskolnikov.Rev, since you support the inclusion, why do you think there is no mention of the blast being a result of a munition coming from Israel's direction in the February report? VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 17:10, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

  Recall that there are three FA investigations, October 2023, February 2024, and October 2024. Saying what happened is inconclusive in the February report isn't in tension with the conclusion of the first October 2023 investigation that it was a munition fired from the direction of Israel. The second report is focused on analyzing the validity of the errant rocket theory and doesn't analyze alternatives as the first did, however the third October 2024 investigation does address this, and once again states there is evidence that it was a munition fired from the direction of Israel by Israel, including situated testimony saying it was a fragmentation bomb rather than a failed rocket, further bolstering the first investigation's conclusions.

  From the video investigation's transcript:

  "But what I find difficult is that there's no weight to the idea that the evidence is in the wound, that, as in all ballistics, you are able to tell about the weapon looking at the wound. You can tell the difference between an IED and a missile looking at the wound. You can tell the difference between a fragmentation bomb and a regular bomb. Looking at them, let's take a look at the fragments that's on the side. So this is the blast, yes, and this is so this is the blast, because everybody who was killed was killed in this open space. The explosive. You see only the windows were shattered, so the explosive component of that missile is not the main delivery instrument. It's the fragmentation. That's the delivery when I walked into the emergency department on my right was a guy in his 60s, and the amputation was like a guillotine here. And unlike where you where the bomb tears the limb off, this was chopped off, which meant that the vessels were still bleeding, whereas when you tear the vessels off, they clot. And so I had to take his belt off and tie it in his groin to try to stop the bleeding. And then everybody in that room had just metal shrapnel. The wounds were clean. They didn't have dust and dirt and gravel, and they were just sharp cuts, amputations. The majority of kids were hit in the head and or decapitated, and the majority of adults were either in the neck or in the thighs. So if like an adult is sitting down, then it would be the neck. So they could say about Yeah, at the wounds themselves, the level of the amputation, the edge of the wound. The fact that clean, serrated wound, not bruised, meant it was a sharp, guillotine like injury. There was no dirt impacted inside the wound, which means that it didn't explode in the ground and bring everything up with it. For a missile to kill 483 it must have been a huge missile, if it's Palestinian killing 483 which a Palestinian missile has never killed 400 you're saying that this is most likely one that was destined for Tel Aviv, and then the fuel is what killed people. So there's no burns. And the crater, you've seen the crater, it's a shallow crater. Yes, yeah, for that, that kind of death."

  They also point to the pattern of Israeli threats and subsequent munitions fired at the hospital in the days leading up to the explosion as additional evidence in the video, and in the description of the investigation and testimony:

  "Four days before the explosion, on 13 October, Israel had ordered the evacuation of all hospitals in northern Gaza, including al-Ahli. The following day, an artillery strike on the hospital’s cancer treatment ward was understood by staff to be a warning. Our wider research has identified a four-phase process by which hospitals in Gaza have been forced out of service by the Israeli military since October 2023, which commonly involves ‘intimidation’ or ‘warning’ strikes on areas immediately surrounding hospitals.

  Concerning the nature of the wounds he treated at al-Ahli that night, Dr Abu-Sittah recalled: ‘The wounds were clean. They didn’t have dust and dirt and gravel, and they were just sharp cuts. Amputations.’ In Dr Abu-Sittah’s assessment, this suggested to him that the rocket was likely to have been a ‘fragmentation bomb’.

  ‘You can tell the difference between and IED and a missile looking at the wound’, Dr Abu-Sittah told us. ‘You can tell the difference between a fragmentation bomb and a regular bomb looking at the wound’.

  Following the blast, many news outlets cited Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari’s claim that it was caused by a Palestinian rocket that failed to burn its propellant. However, our analysis suggests that the rockets identified by the Israeli army would have burned through their propellant while still far from the hospital. Dr Abu-Sittah also told us that most injuries he saw following the blast were not caused by burns, but rather by munition fragments."

  It would actually make sense to alter the language of the third investigation's conclusions to not only reflect that it cast further doubt on the errant rocket theory, but that it also bolstered the first investigation's conclusion that it was a munition fired from the direction of Israel, and by Israel. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 01:01, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

  Raskolnikov.Rev that is helpful, thanks. I found that FA leans towards the cause of the explosion being a fragmentation bomb and it could not have been a Palestinian missile or rocket. But the third investigation doesn't say "from the direction of Israel" anywhere, right? Only the first investigation says that, right? VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 23:36, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

  The third investigation provides significant evidence that it was an Israeli fragmentation bomb, and that could have only come from the direction of Israel. So I see that as bolstering the first investigation's conclusion and going even further than it by providing evidence directly for Israel's culpability, whereas the first only noted the directionality without this aspect. However, since there is no explicit mention of the directionality, any addition could be limited to simply noting that they cited testimony that the munition was a fragmentation bomb of likely Israeli origin. It in any case bolsters the first investigation's conclusions significantly. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 14:53, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

  The third investigation provides significant evidence that it was an Israeli fragmentation bomb, and that could have only come from the direction of Israel Where does it say that? And is there a secondary source? What I don't understand is that we have FA founder saying we don't know what is the cause of the explosion after the "second" investigation. Selfstudier (talk) 15:01, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

  I posted the relevant parts in full here, and I recommend watching the video of the transcript, it begins at 15:33, or better yet watch the full video. The testimony of Sittah explicitly says that it was a fragmentation bomb based on the kinds of injuries he saw and treated, the nature of the crater and munition's explosion, the level of death and destruction, and he says Palestinian groups do not possess that munition. FA and Sittah then add more evidence that it was a likely Israeli munition by noting that Israel had exhibited a pattern of targeting the hospital shortly before the blast, including firing munitions at it.

  The second investigation was in February 2024, and focused on analyzing various iterations of the errant rocket theory put forth by Israel and others, but they did not look into the question of origins. The recent third one went back again to look at the question of the nature of the munition and its origins, and again it's clear that it provides significant evidence backing up the first investigation's conclusion that it was indeed an Israeli munition, fired by Israel. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 15:34, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

  FA is citing Abu-Sittah, I'm sure he is an excellent doctor that knows bugger all about munitions and their effects. So no, I do not agree that the third investigation supports the first other than indirectly and anyway it doesn't matter because the FA founder, after the second, says we don't know the cause. Sorry, we cannot say that Israel was responsible or what type of munition it was, we can definitively say it wasn't an errant rocket, that's it. Selfstudier (talk) 15:55, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

  The question at hand is whether FA is saying Israel fired the munitions (or is likely to have done so). The third investigation does seem to support the first, and its conclusions indicate likely Israeli involvement even without the two prior investigations. We have not just the characteristics of the munition, but also the warning attack, the threats, etc. Of course, we would say "FA says the evidence suggests Israeli munitions" (which is a reasonable reading of the evidence they present) rather than "It was definitely Israel!" (which would be POV). Bearing in mind other RSes have also come to similar conclusions, FA's assessment should at least should get mentioned. Lewisguile (talk) 19:02, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

  There is only one FA investigation. Selfstudier (talk) 19:04, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

  Call it what you will. It's still relevant. Lewisguile (talk) 19:13, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

• Oppose following the views of BilledMammal and Andre. Hogo-2020 (talk) 06:54, 13 November 2024 (UTC)
• Oppose BUT The entire sentence about FA findings needs to be clarified AND the sentence "The cause of the explosion is contested." needs to be clarified (cause unknown/debated) per the sourcing below. If we are including that the majority sourcing suggests an errant Palestinian rocket, then we should also include that the minority sourcing disputes that. For this we need sources that are more distant in time from the event and I can only find three, one of which is cited in the article body but not for the conclusion drawn (The New Yorker). From these, it seems that as of now, FA's conclusion is not that Israel is responsible but that it can't be an errant Palestinian rocket and the conclusion overall is that the origin of the explosion is unclear:

Global Investigative Journalism Network (March 2024) "A number of media organizations dug into the incident, but their sometimes contradictory conclusions showed the limitations of open source techniques in the chaos of an active war. Forensic Architecture, Channel 4, and Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification unit published in-depth analyses of the blast that were either inconclusive or ruled against the Palestinian misfire theory." and "HRW also did a remote assessment of the damage on site, and attempted to calculate the possible trajectory of potential projectiles seen on video before and after the explosion. As a result, it concluded an airdropped bomb of the size Israel often used in Gaza was not the cause of the bombing."

The New Yorker (July 2024) "Four months later, Forensic Architecture published its full investigation, demonstrating that all seventeen Palestinian rockets had finished burning their propellant while in flight. The investigation was not meant to prove that Israel had destroyed Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. It is still unclear what caused the explosion"

Salon (November 2024) "While Israel has denied responsibility for that specific attack, whose origin is still debated, since then, Israeli forces have directly attacked hospitals and other health care facilities dozens and dozens of times" Selfstudier (talk) 16:24, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

@Selfstudier, two of those sources were published before FA's last investigation (see this comment), in which they do start leaning towards the cause of the explosion being a certain type of munition, such as a fragmentation bomb.VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 23:41, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

The sentence as it stands is still not right tho? If possible we should avoid interpreting the "third" investigation, in the absence of secondaries. Selfstudier (talk) 10:51, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

What do you mean? The first sentence that this RfC is about is accurate and reflects exactly what the sources say, as I noted here. That's not even being disputed. They're disputing whether or not it is DUE to include it, and it clearly is.

Also, as @Vice regent noted, we do have an investigation further removed from the event, namely FA's October 2024 investigation which bolsters their October 2023's conclusion that it was a munition fired from the direction of Israel and also cites evidence that it was done by Israel.

So I am not sure why you would oppose the inclusion of the first investigation's conclusion in the lede, but clarification could be added as I noted regarding the third: "It would actually make sense to alter the language of the third investigation's conclusions to not only reflect that it cast further doubt on the errant rocket theory, but that it also bolstered the first investigation's conclusion that it was a munition fired from the direction of Israel, and by Israel." Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 14:52, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I replied above. Selfstudier (talk) 15:13, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

• Support I by in large agree with the points raised by @nableezy and @raskolnikov. @Ïvana 's point about the coverage of reliable sources of a minority view is a very good one and means this merits inclusion. There is also a very clear consensus that Forensic Architecture is reliable, and I personally disagree with the view that what a reliable source is reporting should blankly be removed as this can needlessly restrict information, and Nableezy's argument that Palestinian Islamic Jihad's responsibility is not even per se a consensus is really a smoking gun here. this should be included in the lede. genabab 17:00 13 November 2024 (UtC)
• Oppose. The current wording implies Forensic Architecture conclusively determined the attack was Israel's fault and is more up to date than the previous sources. Andrevan explained this nicely at the start of the RfC: just proving that Forensic Architecture is reliable doesn't mean that the current wording is acceptable. No support !voters have actually addressed this reasoning. The closest I see is that Forensic Architecture is cited by other RSes, gives the reader more context, and that is why it's WP:DUE. But all that proves is that their views should be included in some way. This argument doesn't prove that Forensic Architecture is the definitive source on whether Israel or PIJ committed this attack. Chess (talk) (please mention me on reply) 02:15, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  We quote them saying what happened remains inconclusive, how are we saying that they concluded it was Israel when we say the opposite? nableezy - 03:21, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  Yes, I think that's right, the article says "Forensic Architecture went on to note that while what happened at al-Ahli remains inconclusive, the Israeli military "launched an aggressive disinformation campaign" in its aftermath, and that it "has yet to provide any conclusive visual evidence to support the claim that the source of the deadly blast at al-Ahli hospital was a Hamas or PIJ rocket" and the New Yorker "Four months later, Forensic Architecture published its full investigation, demonstrating that all seventeen Palestinian rockets had finished burning their propellant while in flight. The investigation was not meant to prove that Israel had destroyed Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. It is still unclear what caused the explosion. What the investigation did was show that the I.D.F. had fostered an environment of uncertainty by putting out misinformation about a misfired Palestinian rocket." In reality, there is only one FA investigation, the completed one published 15 February 2024. Selfstudier (talk) 12:27, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  @Nableezy: The lede says Forensic Architecture concluded the blast was the result of a munition fired from the direction of Israel. There's realistically no entity other than Israel that could've fired a weapon from Israeli territory, so the current wording concludes that Israel fired the munition. Chess (talk) (please mention me on reply) 17:34, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  That is a misstatement of their final conclusions and should be corrected. But FA should be included. nableezy - 21:11, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  @Nableezy: I agree. Chess (talk) (please mention me on reply) 22:59, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  FA's conclusion in the first investigation that the munition was fired from the direction of Israel is not solely theirs with no additional evidence. Earshot and an independent investigator and explosives expert also said the evidence indicated that the munition came from the direction of Israel as reported in Al Jazeera. This was also reported on by Channel 4 News: "Earshot investigators have analyzed two aspects of the blast which killed so many at the Christian Hospital. First Doppler effect sound analysis of the missile tracking to the hospital that night. It's the compression of sound waves as a moving object is accelerating towards you and that object is emitting sound and then as it's moving away that frequency decreases, that pitch decreases. That analysis produced this mapping the red line is where the Israelis said the missile was fired from by they say Islamic Jihad from within Southwestern Gaza. But this new Doppler sound mapping analysis concludes that the missile came from a variety of possible firing points, the blue arrows all east of the hospital not West as the IDF claimed." The New Yorker also referenced it in its March piece: "By analyzing the Doppler effect—the observed frequency emitted by a sound source relative to the observer—the researchers found that the pitch frequency didn’t line up with a missile coming from southwest Gaza." And once more, as I noted here, FA's third investigation provides evidence that it was an Israeli munition (I disagree with @Selfstudier about the value of Sittah's testimony, he is an expert on wounds and can distinguish between burn wounds and those caused by schrapnel. Moreover, the third investigation notes a pattern of Israeli threats and targeting of the hospital in the days leading up to the explosion). We also have not included Al Jazeera's own independent analysis concluding that it was not an errant rocket in the lede, even though it is in the body.

  Again, as I've said before, to ensure NPOV both POV backed by multiple high quality RS should be given due weight in the lede, even if the conclusion implies something that is to the detriment of the other POV. We have no such compunctions when using language for the errant rocket theory more than merely implying that it is "conclusively determined" by sources like Western intelligence agencies. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 17:50, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  There is no "first investigation", show it to me on their website, please. Selfstudier (talk) 17:53, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  They posted it on their Twitter account, as they do regularly with their analyses, and it was reported on by many RS including the New York Times, BBC, El Pais, Bloomberg News, Al Jazeera, Channel 4 News, Deutsche Welle. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 18:19, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  Then that's not an "investigation", it's only a preliminary report. That's the problem I have with nearly all these so called investigations all coming out within days, they are valid up to a point but its like the AJ vid that turned out to be irrelevant after some time had passed. HRW was a bit later than the others, "Evidence Points to Misfired Rocket but Full Investigation Needed", I agree with that one and then the New Yorker following the completion (not the "second") of FA's report. Between those later sources we have the essentials, Israel hasn't proved it was the rockets, FA say they have disproved that and that they don't know the cause. There is literally no support for what Abu Sittah says, he can say it but it means nothing as he is not a munitions expert and there are no RS backing that up at all.

  Anyway, I am going to shut up now because there is this new rule on word limits in formal discussions- Selfstudier (talk) 18:36, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  Is the word limit retroactive? Chess (talk) (please mention me on reply) 18:51, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  If it's retroactive, we're all in trouble, lol. Selfstudier (talk) 18:55, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  @Selfstudier: I asked on the ArbCom talk page and the answer from CaptainEek is that the word limit wouldn't apply to discussions started before the motion went into effect.[2] Chess (talk) (please mention me on reply) 20:13, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

  OK then, might as well get in the swing of it all the same. Selfstudier (talk) 21:18, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

• Strong support. It's unhelpful to have to repeat the same arguments all the time, as I see is happening here. FA isn't the only source making these claims, and they represent a significant alternative view which should be covered per WP:NPOV and WP:DUE. I would reword it to swap "concluded" for "said" (or even "suggested"), and would also drop the Oct 2023 date, so: "In its own analysis, Forensic Architecture said/suggested the blast was the result of a munition fired from the direction of Israel." But you could probably trim that even more to: "In its own analysis, Forensic Architecture suggested the munition was fired from Israel." Lewisguile (talk) 19:21, 18 November 2024 (UTC)
• Support leaving in lede Having the other sources that claim the rocket came from Gaza and specifically removing this one given it has itself been cited as an RS by other RSses is POV pushing. Acebulf ^{(talk | contribs)} 05:53, 19 November 2024 (UTC)

Discussion

• The lead currently says "The cause of the explosion is contested" before going into the analyses, and I think this is rightly done. In most cases, articles should "describe disputes, but not engage in them" - it's not typically up to us to decide which side in a dispute is right and needs to be promoted, and which side is wrong and needs to be discounted. Even our guideline on WP:FRINGE opens up with guidance like "...reliable sources must be cited that affirm the relationship of the marginal idea to the mainstream idea in a serious and substantial manner". It's not that non-mainstream ideas should be excluded, but that they should be included in a way that doesn't give them UNDUE weight.

That said, the current emphasis on FA in the lead and the body is plainly UNDUE. In the lead, the in-depth analyses from the Associated Press, CNN, The Economist, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal are all bundled into a single sentence, cited to a single source, briefly summarizing the conclusion they all came to; the single analysis of FA gets a sentence just as long, cited to 3 sources. In the body, the weighting is a little better - but in the sections of Al-Ahli_Arab_Hospital_explosion#Origin_and_trajectory_of_munition and Al-Ahli_Arab_Hospital_explosion#Rocket_vs_airstrike, the FA analyses still gets 3 paragraphs to itself, where most other source analyses only get 1.

Lead content is a summary of the body, so of course a body filled with UNDUE content allows for a strong-looking case to make the lead UNDUE as well. If we're really honest with ourselves, we'd condense the body content on FA closer to the amount that every other serious, RS-reported analysis receives, and then we'd reflect that weighting in the lead. Perhaps that would result in a single-sentence mention of the FA report and conclusion in the lead. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 15:19, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

Forensic Architecture, February 2024: Our analysis shows that the explosion captured in the Al Jazeera footage, and referenced by Lerner, took place at an altitude of 5km, and 5.7km from the hospital, outside of Gaza. From an altitude of 5km, any fragments from this explosion would have reached the ground 31s later in freefall. The hospital blast occurred only 8s later, meaning that this missile cannot have been responsible. Independent investigations by the New York Times and the Washington Post corroborate our analysis. Scharb (talk) 19:26, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

What's your meaning in quoting that passage? PhotogenicScientist (talk) 19:32, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

• BilledMammal, WP:RFCOPEN requires the opening message to be neutral. Given that this matter was covered in WP:SECONDARY sources, can we remove "tweet" from the section title? VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 10:58, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

  I also thought the inclusion of "tweet" was odd. I went ahead and changed it, per WP:TALKHEADPOV PhotogenicScientist (talk) 13:27, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

• Comment: I will !Vote in the RfC once I’ve had time to read the sources more carefully. It may be that this amount of words isn’t due. But for now I want to comment on the arguments based on FA’s unreliability and bias. Yes they’re biased, even partisan, but they are also one of the most reliable sources on this topic. Their work is really thorough, and conducted at a more careful pace than many outlets. I have followed their work on Syria, the UK and Palestine closely, and I’ve never seen a single reliable source showing them to be sloppy or dishonest. BobFromBrockley (talk) 20:41, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

  Agreed. Trimming and compressing is probably a separate conversation, but I'm happy to take a stab at that once the article is unlocked for gC editin. Lewisguile (talk) 10:58, 19 November 2024 (UTC)

References

RFC opener

I am confused to why this RFC doesn't have a signature. Who opened it? Is removing the signature in-line with WP's guidelines? If so, which exactly? Makeandtoss (talk) 13:43, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

A BilledMammal idiosyncrasy, permitted by the RFC information page and which virtually no-one else follows, "Sign the statement with either ~~~~ (name, time and date) or ~~~~~ (just the time and date)". There is a discussion at Wikipedia talk:Requests for comment/Archive 15#Signature vs date stamp. Selfstudier (talk) 09:58, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

I have opened a new discussion there. [3] Makeandtoss (talk) 10:21, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

Lede

Proposal to summarize the second lede paragraph from:

Reports of the number of deaths vary widely. Many English-language media outlets initially reported the Gaza Health Ministry had concluded that over 500 were killed. Journalist David Zweig reported that this figure appears to have originated from a mistranslation of an Al Jazeera Arabic tweet, which is correctly translated as reporting over 500 total victims, including injuries, not 500 killed. The Gaza Health Ministry later reported a more precise figure of 471 killed and 342 wounded. A report by Human Rights Watch questioned the Health Ministry's casualty figures. The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, which manages the hospital, reported 200 people killed. US intelligence agencies assessed a death toll between 100 and 300.

To:

International media initially reported that over 500 Palestinians were killed according to the Gaza Health Ministry, but this was a mistranslation of a report that had mentioned over 500 total victims, including injuries. The Gaza Health Ministry later reported a more precise figure of 471 killed and 342 wounded. A report by Human Rights Watch questioned the Health Ministry's casualty figures. The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, which manages the hospital, reported 200 people killed, while the US assessed a figure between 100 and 300.

Makeandtoss (talk) 13:40, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

Sounds good. But I would change "including injuries" to "including injured".VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 19:58, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

Done. Makeandtoss (talk) 07:46, 9 November 2024 (UTC)

Description of rocket barrage from Gaza

@Raskolnikov.Rev this reversion of yours is out of line, for a couple of reasons:

• "Long standing" is not a good reason to keep content

• RS-backed I removed no RS; what exactly are you trying to say?

• seek consensus for it first I've told you before that using "no consensus" in opposition to an edit is is profoundly unhelpful to other editors, and is discouraged.

• blatant POV-pushing Really?

You've offered no substantial argument against the inclusion of reliably sourced, factual information from the timeline of the event, with its relevance to the explosion demonstrated in RS. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 22:57, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

I'd also like to refer you to this essay on "status quo stonewalling", which is what you're doing here. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 23:01, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

It is not at all misguided, and I provided good reasoning for why I restored the long-standing RS version of the text. Your POV-pushing by adding that is incredibly misguided.

What was a neutral description of the explosion in line with WP:NPOV was turned into a "it was definitely an errant rocket from the rocket barrage" description by your addition:

Long-standing RS-backed version that I restored: The explosion occurred in a parking lot in the courtyard at 6:59 p.m. local time on Tuesday 17 October, creating orange plumes in the sky.

Your edited version: At 6:59 p.m. on 17 October, several rockets were launched from 2 positions within Gaza, one northwest and one southwest of the hospital. Within seconds, Israel issued alerts to several cities and towns about the barrage. Less than a minute later, an explosion occurred in a parking lot in the courtyard, creating orange plumes in the sky.

The other side can also write an RS-backed introduction to that section that pushes the Israeli munition theory instead of the errant rocket one that you're pushing there. That would also be a violation of NPOV. The neutral description of the explosion happening, followed by the analysis of both perspectives of what caused it, is how it ought to be introduced.

Now you can argue that your new version of the introductory paragraph is superior to the long-standing consensus one, but I strongly disagree, and I suspect others will too, and it is good practice to seek consensus before pushing ahead with controversial POV-pushing edits like these that violate NPOV. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 23:08, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

I agree with PhotogenicScientist, at least in terms of this being a pertinent fact that needs to be covered in some manner. Simply removing the information doesn't seem like an acceptable solution.

In terms the way we frame it, I'm not sure it's a problem to imply that the rocket launches were probably connected to the hospital blast. It seems overwhelmingly likely that there's a connection, and both the mainstream PIJ rocket theory and FA's interceptor theory fit into that. But if you think the framing is problematic, you should propose some alternative way of conveying the factual information. — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 04:39, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

@PhotogenicScientist - Isn't the WP:ONUS on you for inclusion? "The responsibility for achieving consensus for inclusion is on those seeking to include disputed content."

It's not like @Raskolnikov.Rev didn't give a reason, NPOV is a valid reason for exclusion if they believe the material to be non-neutral. (Also, WP:DRNC is an essay about reverting with no explanation other then "no consensus", not a policy & non applicable here)

Due to this article mainly focusing on the intricacies of what did/didn't happen, I'd say that changing the original neutral description to something that specifically favors one perspective at the beginning of the "Explosion" section was always going to be controversial. Butterscotch Beluga (talk) 19:45, 6 November 2024 (UTC)

I never said DRNC is a policy or a guideline - I cite it to deeper explain why simply reverting someone saying "no consensus for this" is deeply unhelpful. Much more conducive to building consensus would be to specify actual reasons for exclusion "based in policy, sources, and common sense."

And since you're rather new around here, I'll mention - simply citing "WP:NPOV violation" is generally considered a poor argument - again, editors are recommended to expand upon why they think something violates a particular policy. It's also an unsettlingly common argument to see in CTOP areas. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 00:49, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Ok, but again, they did explain their issues with your edit, they were against what they said was "blatant POV-pushing to push the errant rocket theory" and that "If you want to add that seek consensus for it first, it's highly controversial". You may not agree with their analysis, but that's for discussion here.

You wanted to include something, @Raskolnikov.Rev was against it, as such, "The responsibility for achieving consensus for inclusion" falls to you. From my understanding of policy then, I believe it would've been best for you to discuss here before reverting them.

_{Also, being pedantic here, but WP:VAGUEWAVE is an essay about arguments to avoid for deletion & "!votes", not edit summaries, but that's somewhat irrelevant as I understand your point.} Butterscotch Beluga (talk) 01:36, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

No, saying "there is no consensus" isn't a valid "analysis" of the content in my proposed edit. Neither is the uncivil way of merely reiterating the vague wave to "NPOV violations," by calling me a POV-pusher. These are unhelpful and low-quality edit summaries.

You're right that the onus is usually on people proposing content to get consensus for it. But any bold edit has presumed consensus unless challenged - again, on reasonable, specifiable grounds. If someone has such a challenge, then onus can be satisfied through talk page discussion. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 16:13, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

"An edit has presumed consensus until it is disputed or reverted", which it was. That you felt unsatisfied by the initial explanation is inconsequential & your continued focus on the phrasing of the revert rather then on the actual disputed content has drawn this out into pointless squabble.

If you wanted a more detailed explanation, @Raskolnikov.Rev gave a rather extensive one above, of which you've yet to reply to, instead taking the issue to WP:NPOVN, twice. Butterscotch Beluga (talk) 16:39, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

I concur with the position expressed by @Raskolnikov.Rev and @Butterscotch Beluga. @PhotogenicScientist introduced contentious text that violates WP:NPOV without seeking prior consensus on the talk page. This action appears to be an attempt to promote a particular point of view, which has been repeatedly advanced on this (1, 2) and another page.

There is established consensus regarding the reliability of Forensic Architecture and other reputable sources that support an Israeli munition being implicated in the blast, while questioning the theory of an errant Hamas/PIJ rocket. Despite this, you continue to make attempts to diminish, challenge, and present the latter as the sole or primary legitimate perspective.

The original text is concise, neutral, supported by reliable sources, as required by WP:NPOV. Lf8u2 (talk) 05:21, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

How exactly does the introduction of this factual, sourced information constitute an NPOV violation? PhotogenicScientist (talk) 16:10, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Well, I guess we'll find out? Selfstudier (talk) 16:34, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

And the other one Selfstudier (talk) 16:35, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

FA's Israeli interceptor theory would also support the pertinence of this fact; it still implies that the explosion was connected to rockets being launched from Gaza. I haven't seen any particular theory that would imply that it was a coincidence. — xDanielx ^T/_C\^R 17:51, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

I agree that information should be covered in some manner, but disagree that it should precede details of the explosion itself (as PhotogenicScientist did here).VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 00:59, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

There is a bigger problem here: There is no such thing as "FA's Israeli interceptor theory". In none of its three investigation does FA say that the cause of the blast was an Israeli interceptor. Rather, as I noted here, all three of their investigations cast doubt on the errant rocket theory and disprove several iterations of it, while the first and third provide significant evidence that it was a munition fired from the direction of Israel, by Israel. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 01:04, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

Makes sense. It might make most sense to put this information in the Al-Ahli_Arab_Hospital_explosion#Analyses section (maybe under "Rocket vs airstrike"), but it absolutely does belong somewhere in the article.VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 23:46, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

disagree that it should precede details of the explosion itself. Why is that? The timeline of events immediately leading to the explosion, as documented by RS, are:

1. Rockets are launched from within Gaza
2. Israel launches at least one interceptor missile
3. Hospital explodes

It's patently obvious that the initial rocket barrage is connected to this event. Explosives are being launched into the air, and less than a minute later there's an explosion at this hospital. Furthermore, none of that is OR - it's literally the timeline the sources I cited lay out. Why should we not include the precipitating action in our summary of the explosion? PhotogenicScientist (talk) 20:03, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Its not OR, but its POV. We have sources that say it was a Palestinian rocket, a source that says it was an Israeli fragmentation munition, I'm presuming some sources that might say it was an Israeli interceptor, and then finally sources that say this was inconclusive.

It is most encyclopedic to first describe the uncontested facts and then the interpretations. VR _{(Please ping on reply)} 22:27, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Nowhere in NPOV have I seen guidance along the lines of "omit neutrally-described factual information if its mere presence supports/calls into question one or more POVs."

It is most encyclopedic to first describe the uncontested facts Indeed - and the fact that 17 rockets were launched from inside Gaza moments before the hospital exploded is an uncontested fact. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 22:40, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Moments before the explosion Israel bombed Gaza in the near vicinity of the hospital four times. Moments before the explosion all the rockets fired from Gaza were seen being intercepted and destroyed in the sky and all their fuel burned out. Sounds analysis of the moments before the explosion and later crater analysis concluded that it was a munition fired from the direction of Israel, contradicting Israeli claims.

This is all backed by RS.

But those are timeline of events of moments before the explosion that you did not include because you were blatantly POV-pushing. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 23:03, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

For fuck's sake - WP:NPA is a policy. If you can't make two comments in a thread without casting aspersions and personalizing arguments, a behavior which you've already been told isn't ok and you said you'd do better at, kindly sit out of discussions.

POV-pushing is not constituted simply by citing sources that report on the event just because the presence of this information imperils one POV or another. If you could provide other sources that describe the timeline, we can cite them. Speaking of which...

• Israel bombed Gaza in the near vicinity of the hospital four times Your cited source makes zero mention of this
• were seen being intercepted and destroyed in the sky This isn't a news report of the events, but an analysis. We could include it in the timeline, attributed to Al Jazeera (or others, since I've seen the interceptor launch mentioned elsewhere)
• all their fuel burned out is an analytical claim, and nearly impossible to prove definitively when this happened, if at all.
• concluded that it was a munition fired from the direction of Israel Again, no mention of this in any news report. Which is odd - the rocket launches from Gaza were picked up and reported on. I wonder how a launch from Israel could've escaped scrutiny...

In any case, the prevalence of news reports of the rocket barrage confirm they actually happened, as opposed to speculations being reported in a single analysis. And their relevance to the explosion is again, patently obvious. It is a disservice to the readers of this article that the impetus of the root cause ascertained by so very many reputable sources - the rocket barrage launched from within Gaza - and even the impetus for another competing theory (Israeli interceptor, because what exactly was it intercepting?) is completely omitted from the description of this event. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 02:58, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Kindly calm down and stop swearing. Also kindly stop bringing up unrelated issues that have already been dealt with and using it to try to divert the discussion. I apologized for my use of language that I have not since repeated anywhere, yet you keep bringing it up.

I said you were POV-pushing, and backed it up with arguments and cited RS.

"Your cited source makes zero mention of this"

It is in the video, and if you read the page as it currently is you would see that it also on there with the cited RS: "The investigation also identified "four Israeli air strikes on Gaza, targeting the area near the hospital" in the minutes before the explosion."

"This isn't a news report of the events, but an analysis"

It's in an RS, and no, we do not attribute factual claims in an RS for one side and not the other just because one of them happens to coincide with your POV.

all their fuel burned out is an analytical claim, and nearly impossible to prove definitively when this happened"

It's proven in an RS through expert analysis of video footage of the rockets. Your personal views on whether that is possible or not has no bearing on that.

"Again, no mention of this in any news report"

It is reported in multiple RS, Al Jazeera, Channel 4 and FA, and the latter's conclusion in this regard was reported by other RS as well including in news reports. Incidentally, that's the in-line references you're trying to have removed.

Reducing all this to mere "speculation", and then adding an introductory line to that section framing it as the rocket barrage being directly implicated in the explosion despite the fact that it is contradicted by other RS, is clear blatant POV-pushing behavior. I have provided ample argumentation for why I believe this is the case, citing RS information, and other editors have agreed with me. In fact, all except one in the discussion so far have.

Having said all that, the rocket barrage is already in that section and mentioned in other places on the page. There is no need whatsoever to cram it into the introduction to that section when it is mentioned shortly thereafter already when the current description already neutrally introduces the content that follows, which includes both POVs that have consensus to be given DUE weight on the page. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 03:20, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

"POV pushing!" is a behavioral claim about another editor - no matter how justified you think it is based on your arguments and what RS you're looking at, yelling that isn't conducive to discussion or consensus building, and thus isn't ok. And so long as your behavior continues to be below the high standard expected in CTOP areas, it's going to continue to be brought up.

Your personal views on whether that is possible or not has no bearing on that. Actually, my personal views on whether information from a given source should be present in an article have exactly as much bearing as your own personal views on such sources.

One difference between factual reporting and analysis is quite apparent: Analyses may be questioned, and factual reports cannot. Analysis is done after the events in question; factual reports are collected in the moment. In a simple example, that at least 17 rockets were launched from within Gaza is a basic observable fact: there is video evidence of 17 rocket trails streaking through the sky. I haven't seen a single reasonable RS dispute this observation, but we have several RS that report this same observation. That all 17 rockets burned all their fuel is not a basic observable fact: what is observable in this case, according to FA's analysis, is that the rockets were alight for a time and distance that suggests they burned all of their fuel; however, the level of fuel in the tanks of the rockets was not directly observed in the same way that the rockets themselves were observed. This difference is also evident in how widespread the reporting is: We have only a single RS, to my knowledge, making this observation - FA.

I'll note that you still have not offered a substantial rebuttal to why we should include a neutrally-worded description of this reliably-sourced factual information. Nor have you responded to @XDanielx above regarding where, if anywhere, you think this belongs in the article. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 22:33, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

That FA made an initial investigation and then completed a full investigation months after all of the others and were presumably aware of those earlier investigations is also a fact. And that FA is a highly reputable org that has carried out many investigations is also a fact. That they directly contradict the earlier investigations is another fact. Are there any RS contradicting the FA findings after they were published? That is, after the second investigation- Selfstudier (talk) 23:04, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

The weight of sources today remains firmly on the side of Associated Press, CNN, The Economist, et al, regarding the timeline of events. That analyses continue to be done long afterward that may shed additional light on events in no way invalidates or cheapens previous reports - especially this one report against the weight of all the others. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 23:14, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

"Analyses may be questioned, and factual reports cannot" - Every source can & should be questioned. (Also, that's a loaded question, you've preemptively categorized your preferred of the two as factual)

The best sources for contentious material are actually analyses reported by reliable organizations, as they involve research, comparisons between initial reports, & input from topic experts.

A news report on the other hand will convey initial findings, making them more prone to being contradicted by later investigations. Butterscotch Beluga (talk) 23:14, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Cool. Has the launching of 17 rockets from within Gaza been meaningfully questioned or refuted? PhotogenicScientist (talk) 23:15, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Ok, I have to ask, why do you keep bringing up "the launching of 17 rockets from within Gaza"? I don't believe that was the issue with the contested material in the initial revert.

Your version said "several rockets were launched from 2 positions within Gaza, one northwest and one southwest of the hospital" (Emphasis Mine).

Forensic Architecture's analysis, referenced by Al Jazeera & cited for that sentence, refutes Israel's claim of the munition being fired from the southwest, instead saying it came from the northeast, outside Gaza.

They don't contend that the 17 rockets were fired from Gaza, only that, according to Israel's explanation, they couldn't have caused an explosion of that scale.

"Our analysis, however, suggests that all seventeen visible rockets in the salvo the Israeli military claimed was responsible had finished burning their fuel mid-flight, meaning that by Hagari’s own logic they could not have caused the damage to al-Ahli."

So, at least from my reading, the issue was stating Israel's POV in wikivoice. The launch location & direction of 1 munition is contested.

If I'm misunderstanding the dispute or missing any details, please inform me. Butterscotch Beluga (talk) 00:35, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

The rockets were launched less than a minute before the hospital exploding. One of the launch sites was southwest, and the missiles traveled northeast in the direction of the hospital. The relevance to the hospital explosion of the rocket launch is demonstrated by NYTimes and AP noting them in their summary of the event. It's really that simple.

The fact that the presence of factual information from RS happens to "align with the claim of Israel" does not matter one whiff. We follow what RS say. We're healthily skeptical of what Israel and Hamas say, being that they're belligerents in this conflict. But we do not discount what RS say just because their reports happen to align with Israel in one instance. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 00:11, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

You are saying your additions were neutral & just the facts. However, the direction/origin is highly contested & Forensic Architecture's analysis has been mentioned by several reliable sources.

It does not matter what you believe to be factual information or not, the idea that "One of the launch sites was southwest, and the missiles traveled northeast in the direction of the hospital" is a contested point of view between both reliable sources & belligerents, thus it can't be stated in wikivoice as a definite fact.

You say, "we do not discount what RS say just because their reports happen to align with Israel in one instance", but seem to consistently be dismissing what other reliable sources say because their reports don't align with Israel's. Butterscotch Beluga (talk) 01:35, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

One of the launch sites was southwest, and the missiles traveled northeast in the direction of the hospital" is a contested point of view between both reliable sources & belligerents, thus it can't be stated in wikivoice as a definite fact. Is flatly incorrect. There is no source denying the rockets were launched, nor the location they were launched from, or where they were going. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 01:42, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

No, as I said earlier -

"Forensic Architecture's analysis, referenced by Al Jazeera & cited for that sentence, refutes Israel's claim of the munition being fired from the southwest, instead saying it came from the northeast, outside Gaza."

I'm not sure what of my replies you're reading because you're currently denying that sources contest the specifics here... in response to a chain of discussion that includes links & quotes specifically contesting said specifics. Butterscotch Beluga (talk) 01:58, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

FA is disputing that the munition that caused the blast at the hospital came from the southwest. FA is not disputing that a number of rockets were launched from a position southwest of the hospital, as reported by AP and NYTimes. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 17:10, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

FA says that the rockets could not have caused the explosion and that they don't know the cause of the explosion is my understanding of the FA position. Selfstudier (talk) 17:19, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Maybe. That's the position of a single source. The position of Associated Press, CNN, The Economist, et al, is that that rocket barrage is the cause of the explosion.

REGARDLESS OF THAT, though, the sheer relevance of even mentioning the rocket barrage in the context of the explosion is demonstrated by its inclusion by the AP and the NYTimes. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 17:25, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

None of them say "is". At least I hope not, after "investigations" lasting a day or two. Selfstudier (talk) 17:49, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

My suggestion is to wait for the RFC conclusion and then come back to this. Selfstudier (talk) 17:20, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Regardless of the outcome of the RFC on FA, the conclusion of a single source does not discount the conclusion of the 5+ analysis by high-quality RS. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 17:27, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

I am disposed to give substantially more weight to proper investigations (like HRW or FA) than to rapid investigations in a couple days following the event. Selfstudier (talk) 17:51, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Current RS basically say the cause is disputed and don't lean one way or the other, afaics. Selfstudier (talk) 17:52, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

I would agree with that. Lewisguile (talk) 19:39, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

I'm baffled to hear that you don't consider CNN [4] or the Associated Press [5] as "proper" investigative sources.

As afaics, when you say "current RS", you mean you're looking only at sources that came out 9 months ago and not sources that came out 12 months ago. Which is a baffling way to use the word "current". PhotogenicScientist (talk) 19:56, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Nope, by current I mean current (and I posted them on the page already). Selfstudier (talk) 20:55, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

This page that's currently 200,000+ bytes? Sorry, but after a quick search for sources, I'm not seeing any sources brought up by you that aren't FA. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 21:04, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Look in the RFC, New Yorker, which is in the article already and Salon, which isn't, July and November of this year, respectively. Selfstudier (talk) 22:23, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Are you kidding? Neither of those pieces are even analyses. The Salon piece just regurgitates a brief mention of how the origin of the attack "is still debated." That's it. Not another mention of the event. This article wouldn't even count as WP:SIGCOV of this explosion - hardly a source to hinge such a weighty opinion like "what caused the explosion" on.

The New Yorker piece is similar - they mention the FA analysis among many other things that mister Lawrence Abu Hamdan has done. They didn't do their own analysis. And they're simply a few months late to report on the very same FA report that first broke 9 months ago.

These 2 sources in no way hold even a fraction of the WP:WEIGHT as the CNN and AP sources I provided. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 22:37, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

No, I am not kidding. Selfstudier (talk) 23:18, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

"That all 17 rockets burned all their fuel is not a basic observable fact"

It is quite literally a basic observable fact, on video, verified by high quality RS expert analysis. @Selfstudier makes an excellent point that this investigation, conducted months later based on all the available data, is superior to immediate news reporting in terms of the quality of the RS information. You're somehow trying to argue the opposite, which only makes sense if one deems the RS expert source in question to not be reliable. Fortunately we have consensus that FA is highly credible and reliable. Moreover, Al Jazeera's investigative unit confirmed that all the rockets were broken apart and destroyed in the sky and therefore could not have been responsible for the explosion. Channel 4 News' video analysis concluded that there is "no proof that the midair and ground explosions are necessarily linked." Earshot, FA and independent investigator and explosives expert Chris Cobb-Smith, also concluded that the munition from the direction of Israel. This was also reported on by Channel 4 News.

Also I notice that you did not mention anymore that Israel bombed Gaza near the hospital four times moments before the explosion. They also had a pattern of threatening the hospital and shelling near it and the hospital itself in the days leading up to it.

This is all RS-backed information on what happened moments before the explosion.

All those RS-backed basic observable facts are missing from the edit you made, so it violates NPOV.

"that you still have not offered a substantial rebuttal to why we should include a neutrally-worded description of this reliably-sourced factual information"

Multiple editors including myself have noted that your edit was not at all neutrally-worded, and I have provided extensive argumentation showing exactly why.

As for where that information should be, I already responded to that: "Having said all that, the rocket barrage is already in that section and mentioned in other places on the page. There is no need whatsoever to cram it into the introduction to that section when it is mentioned shortly thereafter already, and when the current description already neutrally introduces the content that follows, which includes both POVs that have consensus to be given DUE weight on the page."

It is simply not true that the rockets are not mentioned on the page. It is, repeatedly, including in that very section you made your edit in. And they are placed in the appropriate sections, as part of the analysis, rather than as part of an introduction only containing one POV on the cause of the explosion by leaving out crucially important RS-backed information from it concerning the other POV.

The current introduction to that section adhered to required consensus NPOV standards by saying an explosion happened, and then the analysis of competing POVs with different RS including the rockets is discussed, exactly as it should be.

"Cool. Has the launching of 17 rockets from within Gaza been meaningfully questioned or refuted?"

Again, the rocket launches are already on the page in multiple places including in the very section you edited that introduction into. I'm not sure why you keep insisting that it's not on the page when it clearly is.

The problem is not mentioning the rockets. The problem is that you wrote an introduction to the explosion section that directly links those launches to the explosion.

Long-standing RS-backed version that was restored: The explosion occurred in a parking lot in the courtyard at 6:59 p.m. local time on Tuesday 17 October, creating orange plumes in the sky.

Your edited version: At 6:59 p.m. on 17 October, several rockets were launched from 2 positions within Gaza, one northwest and one southwest of the hospital. Within seconds, Israel issued alerts to several cities and towns about the barrage. Less than a minute later, an explosion occurred in a parking lot in the courtyard, creating orange plumes in the sky.

This leaves out all the aforementioned RS-backed information: That Israel had repeatedly warned and shelled near the hospital and the hospital itself in the days leading up to the explosion, that Israel had bombed near the hospital moments before the explosion, the Palestinian rockets being seen destroyed in the sky and their rocket fuel burned out, that sound, crater and testimony said the explosion was caused by a munition fired from Israel.

Instead in your introduction we get rockets being launched from Gaza, and then the explosion happens less than a minute later. No distinguishing by the way between the barrage and the single rocket that came later either, and all the other RS-backed information is entirely missing too. So the reader who goes to the explosion section and reads the introductory paragraph you want to put in there is immediately primed to only see one POV: It was definitely an errant Palestinian rocket.

Once again, this is in clear violation of NPOV, and I have now extensively made the case for why and cited all the relevant RS to back it up with. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 14:15, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Please, learn the difference between direct and indirect observations. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 01:44, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

the reader who goes to the explosion section and reads the introductory paragraph you want to put in there is immediately primed to only see one POV. And it bears repeating - the POV supported by a majority of cited reliable sources. PhotogenicScientist (talk) 02:00, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Infobox - Al Shifa figures could also go in casualties section?

Before I raise a formal edit request, I thought I'd raise this here to see if we've discussed it before and I just can't find it. In the infobox, we currently give the Al Shifa estimates for deaths but not for casualties. However, there are some estimates for casualties sourced in the article here and here. Should we add those numbers in too? Lewisguile (talk) 18:31, 18 November 2024 (UTC)