The Gist An explosion occurred on Tuesday evening, October 17, at Ahli Arab Hospital, a facility of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem in central Gaza. Several hundred victims are expected to be mourned. Israelis and Palestinians blame each other for the attack, which has drawn widespread international condemnation.
Who is behind the dramatic and heinous explosion in a Gaza hospital that occurred this Tuesday evening in an environment that remains tense since the Hamas attacks against Israel?
What are the facts?
An explosion occurred in a hospital in Gaza. “Between 200 and 300 people died,” the Palestinian Territories’ Health Ministry said, adding that “hundreds of victims still lie in the rubble” of the Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza. Hamas speaks of more than 500 victims.
Also read:
DIRECT. Israel-Hamas War: Joe Biden arrived in Israel, drawing strong international condemnation after the Gaza hospital bombing
“We were undergoing surgery in the hospital, there was a loud explosion and the ceiling fell on the operating room. “It’s a massacre,” said Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, a doctor with Medecins without Borders, said in a press release from the NGO. The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem, which runs the hospital, condemned a “brutal” attack that occurred “during Israeli attacks” and denounced a “crime against humanity.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent denounced a “war crime” that caused “hundreds” of civilian victims, “including women, children, health workers.”
Since October 7, the Israeli army has been bombing the Gaza Strip, a 362 square kilometer enclave, daily in retaliation for an attack by Hamas, which wants to destroy the Islamist movement.
The explosion at Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza killed several hundred people on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, AFP
Who is responsible ?
Hamas blamed Israel for the attack. The Israeli army rejected the accusation and stated that “according to intelligence information (…) Islamic Jihad was responsible for the failed rocket launch.” Islamic Jihad has also denied and blamed Israel for it.
Also read:
Israel-Hamas war: “Please get me out of here…” Hamas releases video of 21-year-old French-Israeli hostage
“We will provide evidence of our claims in the coming hours,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on the night of Tuesday, October 17th to Wednesday, October 18th. “Lies,” replied Islamic Jihad, accusing Israel of trying to “evade responsibility for its crime.”
What are the consequences?
At the request of Russia and the United Arab Emirates, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday and shortly beforehand vote on a resolution introduced by Brazil to try to find a common position on the conflict.
The shooting sparked widespread condemnation and protesters took to the streets in Tehran, Amman, Istanbul, Tunis and even Beirut, where there were clashes with police.
Also read:
Israel-Hamas War: But what did Manuel Valls do in Israel?
UN chief Antonio Guterres, who is scheduled to travel to Egypt on the Gaza border on Thursday to discuss humanitarian aid, said on Tuesday evening that he was “appalled”. Hamas’ attacks “cannot justify the collective punishment of Palestinians,” he added from Beijing on Wednesday, after denouncing “the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas on October 7.”
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, called for a “day of rage” on Wednesday to condemn the “massacre” it blames on Israel. Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi declared a day of “public mourning” on Wednesday and predicted that the attack on the hospital would be aimed at Israel and its American ally. On Tuesday, Tehran threatened possible “preventive measures” against Israel, which is preparing a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.