Palestinian health officials said more than 500 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital on October 17, intensifiying war in the Middle East and sparking anger across the Arab world and beyond.
The Al-Ahli Hospital was packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter amid constant bombing by Israel.
This is the deadliest incident in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive on the strip in response to an October 7 attack by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group.
The scenes at the hospital were gruesome. Videos shared on social media showed fire engulfing the building and the hospital grounds strewn with torn bodies, many of them young children.
The targeting of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza was a “hideous war massacre” that cannot be tolerated, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.
Paestinians blamed the Israeli airstrike for the “massacre” at the hospital. Israel blamed the blast on a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which denied responsibility. Hamas called the hospital attack “a horrific massacre,” saying it was caused by an Israeli strike.
Death toll since October 7: The hospital bombing has exacerbated the catastrophe, which has inflamed the region already in crisis since the surprise Hamas attack on October 7 which killed at least 1,300 Israelis and triggered bombings by Israel which has killed 3,061 Palestinians.
Regional summit cancelled after bombing
The attack comes ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to the Mideast where he was set to attend a summit in Amman with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
Jordan’s foreign minister said his country canceled the regional summit. Biden will now visit only Israel, a White House official said.
In a statement issued en route to his flight to Israel, Biden said he was “deeply saddened” by the “explosion” and had asked his national security team to “continue gathering information about what exactly happened”.
What we know about the Gaza hospital attack?
- At least 500 people were killed,accordinf to Palestinian health ministry.
- UN chief urges urged for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.
- Arab leaders cancelled their meeting with Biden after the attack.
UN chief ‘horrified’ by strike on Gaza hospital
The UN Secretary-General said he was horrified by the killing of hundreds of civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza. In a tweet, António Guterres strongly condemned the strike, adding that his heart is with the families of those who died.
“Words fail me. Tonight, hundreds of people were killed – horrifically – in a massive strike at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, including patients, healthcare workers and families that had been seeking refuge in and around the hospital. Once again the most vulnerable. This is totally unacceptable,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
Reaction
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbass, who was in Jordan for a four-way meeting, pulled out following the attack. “In light of this calamity that occurred tonight, and out of concern for our people, I decided to cut short my visit and return to the homeland .., I agreed with the brothers in Jordan and Egypt to cancel the summit that was scheduled today in Amman with President Biden,” said Abbas.
- Jordan also announced the cancellation of the summit with the U.S. and Egypt presidents.
Protests across the region
The barbaric attack has sparked protests across the Middle East and North African region.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. embassy in the suburb of Awkar, outside Beirut, in Lebanon. The protesters chanted “death to America” and “death to Israel”.
In Jordan’s capital, Amman, police used teargas to disperse several thousand demonstrators who attempted to storm the Israeli embassy. They aso demanded the Jordanian government close the embassy and scrap a peace treaty with Israel.
In Tehran, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the British and French embassies in the early hours of Wednesday. “Death to France and England,” protesters shouted.
Hundreds also protested outside the Consulate General of Israel in Istanbul after Tel Aviv’s deadly strike on Al Ahli hospital in besieged Gaza.
Protests were also reported in Libya, Moroccan capital Rabat and Iraq’s capital, Baghdad.
Condemnation
The Gaza hospital attack drew condemnation from Muslim countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which blamed Israel.
Jordan’s King Abdullah said the bombing, which he pinned on Israel, was a “massacre” and a war crime. Thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge in hospitals amid Israel’s bombardment in residential neighborhods.
Saudi Arabia condemned the Israeli air strike on the hospital crowded with patients and displaced people.
“Saudi Arabia categorically rejects this brutal attack, which is a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, including international humanitarian law,” the foreign ministry said. The ministry also denounced Israel for its “continuous attacks against civilians despite many international appeals” to stop.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued a statement on Tuesday, saying: “I condemn in the strongest of terms Israel’s bombardment” on a hospital in Gaza, and calling it a “clear violation of intl law.”
Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the blast at the hospital in Gaza was “the latest example of Israeli attacks devoid of the most basic human values”. His remarks came as large crowds of protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul.
UAE foriegn ministry statement strongly condemned the Israeli attack on hospita and called on the international community to intensify efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life.