GAZA, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Gaza authorities said an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday killed around 500 people at a hospital in the Palestinian enclave, but Israel blamed Palestinian barrage on the explosion. did.
The death toll is by far the highest single incident in Gaza during the current violence, which has sparked protests in the occupied West Bank, Istanbul and Amman.
Palestinian Authority Health Minister Mai al-Kaira accused Israel of the “massacre” at Al-Ahly al-Arabi Hospital. The airstrike killed hundreds of people and occurred during Israel’s intense 11-day bombing campaign in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “savage terrorists” in the Gaza Strip attacked the hospital, not the Israeli military.
Earlier, Gaza’s civil defense chief said 300 people had been killed, and a health ministry official said 500 people had died. Hamas said the explosion killed mainly displaced people.
Israeli military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari told reporters that a rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants passed near the hospital during the attack and struck the facility’s parking lot.
Another spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conrics, told CNN that the military had intercepted a conversation in which the insurgents admitted to firing by mistake. He said the military would release recordings of the conversations.
Islamic Jihad denied that the rockets were involved in the hospital explosion, saying it had no activity in or around Gaza City at the time. The Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad took part in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, and like Hamas, fired a number of rockets at Israel.
On the eve of US President Joseph Biden’s visit to Israel, news of the hospital strike and high death toll drew condemnation from many countries. Russia and the United Arab Emirates called for a UN Security Council meeting, and clashes broke out in the West Bank.
The United Nations said early Tuesday that an Israeli airstrike had hit one of the country’s schools, where at least 4,000 people have fled. The agency said six people were killed and dozens injured in the attack. The Israeli military said it was investigating the report.
In a briefing to reporters, Hagari cast doubt on the number of Palestinian deaths from the hospital strike, insisting there were no direct attacks on facilities. He said military drone footage showed “there was some kind of collision in the parking lot.”
[1/4]On October 17, 2023, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, injured people are cared for at Shifa Hospital after an Israeli airstrike hits nearby Al-Ahly Hospital, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.Reuters/Mohamed Al Masri acquires licensing rights
He said that around the time of the hospital explosion, the military was conducting an Israeli Air Force operation in the area, “but it was using a different type of munitions, which does not match the images we have of the hospital.” said. ”
Regarding the death toll, Hagari said, “We don’t even know how many people were (affected) here. No one can verify it yet.”
Strike draws criticism
Biden said he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by the explosion and loss of life at the hospital. In a statement, he said he had spoken with Jordanian and Israeli leaders and “instructed his national security team to continue gathering intelligence on what exactly happened.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s incident, Gaza health officials said 11 days of Israeli bombing had killed at least 3,000 civilians since Hamas militants rampaged into Israeli towns on October 7, killing more than 1,300 soldiers and civilians. It was announced that a person had died.
Refugees fleeing Israeli shelling are flocking to the hospital and seeking safety in the surrounding area.
Last week, Israel ordered everyone living in the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which is just 45 kilometers (25 miles) long and home to 2.3 million people, to leave their homes and go south.
However, airstrikes have hit targets throughout the enclave, and some of the displaced people have begun to return north, despite expectations of Israeli ground attacks.
The World Health Organization said the attack on the hospital was of “unprecedented scale”. Earlier on Tuesday, authorities said there had been 115 attacks on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, with most hospitals out of commission.
Since the Hamas attack, Israel has cut off all electricity, water, food, fuel and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip and tightened its existing blockade of the enclave.
Countries including Canada, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Qatar condemned the hospital strikes.
In the West Bank, home to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, Palestinian protesters clashed with Palestinian security forces, who fired tear gas to disperse them. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas canceled a meeting with Biden.
Reporting by Moaz Abd-Araziz, Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Ali Sawafta. Additional reporting by Emily Rose. Written by Angus McDowall.Editing: Cynthia Osterman
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