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An explosion at a Gaza hospital for which Palestinians and Israel blamed each other killed hundreds of people on Tuesday, escalating tensions across the region.
The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said at least 200 people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, the day before US President Joe Biden was scheduled to arrive in Israel.
That would be the deadliest incident in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip in response to a deadly attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct. 7.
But the Israel Defense Forces said its intelligence indicated that the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket from Islamic Jihad, a smaller Islamist militant group also based in Gaza.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organization, said “hundreds” of people were killed in hospital. It was not possible to independently verify the death toll or the cause of the explosion.
The incident will mar Biden’s trip to Israel to show solidarity with the Jewish state and push for the delivery of aid to Gaza.
Jordan canceled a summit where Biden was scheduled to meet Jordanian and Egyptian leaders as well as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a Jordanian official said.
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One on his way to Israel on Tuesday evening © Samuel Corum/Pool/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockThe explosion sparked clashes between Palestinians and police in the occupied West Bank and raised concerns that the war between Israel and Hamas could spill over into the area.
Videos posted online showed Palestinian police using tear gas against crowds in several locations in the West Bank.
The blast was also condemned by Muslim countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which blamed Israel. Jordan’s King Abdullah said the bombing, which he blamed on Israel, was a “massacre” and a war crime.
Thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge in hospitals in Gaza, believing they would be safe from Israel’s bombardment of the densely populated enclave.
Gaza, home to 2.3 million Palestinians and controlled by Hamas, has been the target of intense Israeli air and artillery attacks for more than a week.
Ghassan Abu Sitta, a Palestinian-British surgeon, posted on social media: “I moved to Al-Ahli Hospital to help. The Israelis just attacked Al-Ahli Hospital.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The whole world should know: [it was] the barbaric terrorists in Gaza who attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF.”
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israeli military spokesman, said the IDF was conducting an investigation into the attack on the hospital, which would be completed before Biden’s arrival in Israel.
He added that the IDF had evidence that rocket fire had been fired at the hospital by Islamic Jihad and that one had hit the compound.
Reverend Fadi Biab, deputy chief executive of the hospital, said from Jerusalem that they were assessing the number of injured, adding he could not confirm the number.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said the WHO “strongly condemns the attack” on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital and called for “immediate protection of civilians and health services.”
Palestinian officials say more than 3,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the attack © Mohammed Salem/PortalRussia’s UN mission said it and the United Arab Emirates had requested an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council to discuss the hospital explosion, according to state news agency Tass.
A statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the kingdom “strongly condemns the cruel crime committed by Israeli occupation forces in shelling Ahli Hospital.”
Riyadh had been in talks with the US over a deal to normalize relations with Israel before the Hamas attack triggered Israel’s offensive on Gaza.
According to Israeli officials, the Israeli bombardment of the restricted strip began after the Hamas attack killed more than 1,400 Israelis. The militant group also took nearly 200 hostages.
Israeli strikes have since killed more than 3,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.
Airstrikes on the southern towns of Rafah and Khan Younis killed dozens of people and wounded scores more on Tuesday, according to Palestinian officials.
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Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled to the south of the enclave after Israel ordered them to leave the north, including Gaza City, last week.
The Israeli military says it is targeting Hamas militants, whom it accuses of hiding near hospitals and schools and using civilians as “human shields.”
The United Nations said on Tuesday that at least six people were killed when one of its schools in the middle of the territory housing 4,000 displaced Palestinians was hit in Israeli airstrikes.
It added that dozens more were injured, including some staff at a school in al-Maghazi refugee camp.
“This is outrageous and once again shows a blatant disregard for the lives of civilians,” said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA, the U.N. relief agency for Palestinian refugees. “No place in Gaza is safe anymore, not even UNRWA facilities.”
The United Nations has warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Drinking water is scarce, there is no electricity connection and supplies of fuel, medicine and food are running low. UNRWA said that “people will die” due to water shortages.