What Is Known So Far About Strike Against Hospital in Gaza
10:24 18.10.2023 (Updated: 11:08 18.10.2023)
© AFP 2023 MAHMUD HAMS
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On October 17, a rocket strike on the al-Ahli Arab in the Gaza Strip was reported, allegedly becoming the most deadly attack since the beginning of the latest escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Over 500 people have been killed as a result of an Israeli strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry of Gaza said on Tuesday. According to Al-Arabiya, the death toll of the attack exceeded 800.
The military wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said that it is shelling Tel Aviv in response to "mass killings of civilians".
The US is also responsible for crimes committed in the Gaza Strip by providing Israel with "unlimited cover" to commit them, said the head of the Political Buro of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, as cited by Al-Jazeera.
In its turn, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement is responsible for the attack.
"Following an additional review and cross-examination of the operational and intelligence systems, it is clear that the IDF did not strike the hospital in Gaza. The hospital was hit as a result of a failed rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization," the IDF said on Telegram.
The Lebanese movement Hezbollah said on Tuesday that October 18 will be "day of anger" against Israel.
"Wednesday [October 18] will be a day of unprecedented anger against the enemy and its crimes, as well as against [US President Joe Biden's] visit to the Zionist entity [Israel] to cover up and protect this criminal entity," Hezbollah said in a statement.
The statements of condemnation are no longer enough, Hezbollah said, adding that it calls on the population of Arab and Muslim countries to immediately take to the streets to express "strong anger and put pressure on governments and countries wherever they are."
Hezbollah also blamed the United States for the shelling of the hospital in the Gaza Strip.
"The United States bears direct and full responsibility for this massacre and for all crimes committed by the Zionist enemy," the statement said.
The strike has been met with widespread condemnation. Footage from social media shows manifestants gathered in Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank to protest over the strike.
"I am horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza today, which I strongly condemn. My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a social media post on Tuesday.
He said he had two humanitarian appeals, calling on Hamas to free hostages and Israel to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also condemned the deadly attack.
"The WHO strongly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in north Gaza. Early reports indicate hundreds of deaths and injuries. We call for the immediate protection of civilians and health care, and for the evacuation orders to be reversed. #NotATarget," he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Quatar also condemned the strike; Ankara deemed it a "barbaric act".
"We condemn the barbaric attack in the strongest terms and are deeply outraged by the fact that several hundred Palestinians were killed and many injured as a result of the strike on a hospital in Gaza," the the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement seen by Sputnik.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi condemned the deadly strike and said it was "a deliberate shelling".
African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat accused Israel of the strike on the hospital and called it a war crime.
"There are no words to fully express our condemnation of Israel's bombing of a #Gaza hospital today, killing hundreds of people. Targeting a hospital, considered a safe haven under International Humanitarian Law, is a war crime," Mahamat said on X, adding that the international community "must react now."
Russia classifies the recent attack on a hospital in the Gaza Strip as a crime and an act of dehumanization, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev called the strike on the hospital in the Gaza Strip a war crime for which the United States is responsible.
"The monstrous strike on the hospital in the Gaza Strip is certainly a war crime. And the final responsibility for it lies with those who cynically make money on wars in different countries and different continents. Who recklessly hand out huge sums of money for weapons, loading their military and industrial complex. Who falsely broadcast their global mission to protect democratic values. The United States of America," Medvedev said on Telegram.
The Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said it would hold an extraordinary ministerial meeting in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be placed at the top of the agenda. The open-ended meeting will also cover the deteriorating conditions endangering the lives of civilians, as well as the security and stability of the region.
The ministerial meeting of the OIC Executive Committee will take place at the General Secretariat headquarters in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
Jordan has canceled a quadrilateral summit on the situation in the Gaza Strip, which was planned to be held on Wednesday in the country's capital, Amman, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said.
"Jordan has decided not to hold the quadrilateral summit, which was planned in Amman for Wednesday," Safadi told Jordanian broadcaster Al Mamlaka.
The Office of King Abdullah II of Jordan said on Tuesday that the summit involving the leaders of Jordan, Egypt, the United States and Palestine was scheduled for October 18 in Amman. The summit was planned to focus on the developments in the Gaza Strip, their consequences for the region and assistance to the enclave, the statement added.
Russia and the United Arab Emirates have requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting for Wednesday following the deadly strike on the hospital in Gaza City, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said.
"Russia and the United Arab Emirates have requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council for the morning of October 18 in connection with the attack on the hospital in Gaza," Polyanskiy wrote on Telegram.
US President Joe Biden said in a press release that he is outraged about the explosion at the hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians and directed his national security team to find out what exactly happened.
"I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted," Biden said on Tuesday. "Immediately upon hearing this news, I spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu of Israel and have directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened."
