According to the Hamas ministry, hundreds of victims were found under the rubble of the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza following the incident. Al-Jazeera footage showed doctors and civilians recovering bodies in white bags or blankets. Hamas’ media office classified it as a war crime.
Shortly afterwards, the Israeli army blamed Islamic Jihad for the attack. This was indicated by information from the secret services “based on various sources available to us”, the army said in a statement. She further stated that an analysis showed that “a volley of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in the vicinity of Ahli hospital when it was hit.”
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Thousands sought protection in hospitals
Tens of thousands of families in the Gaza Strip are currently seeking refuge in the completely overcrowded hospitals in the Gaza Strip due to the airstrikes with which Israel is responding to the major Hamas attack on October 7th. There were also thousands of people at the hospital site who were affected and had to leave their homes.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke of a “hospital massacre” and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast during a three-day period of mourning and to remember the “martyrs” during this period. In Ramallah in the West Bank, where Abbas is based, hundreds of protesters marched through the streets at night and demanded the Palestinian president’s resignation.
Portal/Lisi Niesner Abbas spoke of a “hospital massacre”
The protesters’ anger was apparently provoked by what they considered to be an overly gentle tone that Abbas had adopted since the start of the war. Abbas leads the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, while Hamas governs the Gaza Strip. Later, when riots broke out, security forces used tear gas against protesters.
Numerous reactions and first consequences
The serious incident that occurred on the hospital premises provoked numerous international reactions. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was calling on humanity to intervene “and stop this unprecedented brutality in Gaza”. The head of the Arab League, Ahmet Abul Geit, also called on Western states to “immediately put an end to this tragedy”. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the attack.
Attack on hospital in Gaza
According to the terrorist organization Hamas, a hospital complex in Gaza was hit following an Israeli airstrike and hundreds are feared dead. At the same time, diplomatic attempts to contain the conflict are in full swing.
UN Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described the bombing as “completely unacceptable”. “I am speechless. “Tonight, hundreds of people were horribly killed in the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital, including patients, nursing staff and families who sought refuge in and around the hospital,” Türk said in a statement on Tuesday .
“Once again it affects the most vulnerable. This is completely unacceptable,” she added, stressing that hospitals are untouchable and must be protected at all costs. “We still do not know the full extent of this carnage, but it is clear that the violence and killings must stop immediately,” demanded the UN human rights commissioner.
Hezbollah declares “Day of Wrath”
Hezbollah, which rules Lebanon, called for a “day of rage” on Wednesday. In the Jordanian capital, Amman, dozens of protesters tried to storm the Israeli embassy. Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the French embassy in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, demanding the resignation of the French and American ambassadors.
Hamas launched a major attack on Israel on October 7, carrying out massacres among civilians and kidnapping at least 199 hostages to the Gaza Strip. According to local services, more than 1,400 people were killed in the attack in Israel. According to local authorities, around 3,000 people were killed in Israeli counterattacks in the Gaza Strip.
Biden expected
US President Joe Biden is expected to visit Israel on Wednesday. A meeting with Palestinian President Abbas was canceled by the Palestinian side. And according to its foreign minister, Jordan canceled the four-party summit planned for Wednesday with Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Abbas.
“Worst crime against Jews since the Holocaust”
Just hours before the events in Gaza became known, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared before the press in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, together with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The security of Israel and its citizens is a German raison d’état,” said Scholz. “Our responsibility arising from the Holocaust makes it our task to defend the existence and security of the State of Israel,” continued the Chancellor.
Netanyahu compared Hamas to the Nazis: “Just as the world came together to defeat the Nazis (…), the world must now be united in support of Israel to defeat Hamas,” said the head of the Israeli government. “The barbarity committed by Hamas killers in the Gaza Strip is the worst crime against Jews since the Holocaust.”
Scholz’s delegation had to leave the plane
Scholz’s delegation then had to suddenly abandon the plane on Tuesday night, before the flight from Tel Aviv to Cairo, due to a missile alarm. Scholz was driven into a building and the other passengers were asked to lie down on the floor of the airfield.
Two anti-aircraft missiles were fired, which could be heard clearly on the airfield. After a few minutes, the passengers managed to return to the plane. Late at night, the plane with Scholz and the delegation left for Cairo.