A hospital in Gaza was bombarded this Tuesday evening in an attack that left hundreds of dead and wounded, attributed by the Gaza health minister to the Israeli military, according to Al Jazeera. The centre hit by the attack was the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City's Al Zaitoon neighbourhood and which accommodated wounded and displaced people. Currently, according to the Al Jazeera network, there are hundreds of people injured and many trapped under the rubble. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority openly accuse Israel of the attack, but Benjamin Netanyahu's government has denied this and, in an official statement, has said it was a projectile fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. "According to the analysis of the IDF's operational systems, an enemy rocket launch was carried out towards Israel, which happened near the hospital, when it was hit. According to intelligence information, according to several sources we have, the Hamas organization is responsible for the failed shooting that affected the hospital," the post reads.
Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry has said there are at least 300 dead, but the number is far from firm and is already rising. Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said that "the massacre at Al-Ahali Hospital is unprecedented in our history. While we have witnessed horrific massacres in the past, what happened tonight constitutes a genocide by all definitions, no injuries, all dead. I'm speechless."
In a statement issued by the Gaza health ministry, they state that the preliminary number of fatalities is around 300. There are "from 200 to 300 martyrs", that is, people killed in the hospital bombardmen, and "hundreds of people are under the rubble ", the statement said. The authorities in Gaza denounce a "war crime". "The hospital housed hundreds of sick and wounded, as well as people forcibly displaced" due to the bombings. Hospitals have become one key locations in Gaza in recent days, with thousands of displaced people going to health centres to avoid the impacts of Israeli missiles. This would be one of the main reasons for the large number of dead and wounded. At the same time, very high numbers of people have been admitted to hospitals due to the siege and the attacks across Gaza that have left thousands dead and injured.
Arab countries and Turkey condemn the attack and blame Israel
The spokesperson for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority, Nabil Abu Rudeina, has accused Israel of the bombing of the Al-Ahli hospital and of causing the deaths of at least 500 people. "This confirms that this Israeli Government does not respect any international standards or laws." According to the Associated Press agency, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmud Abbas, has cancelled his meeting with US president Joe Biden, which was going to be held in Jordan this Wednesday. Abbas has rushed back to Ramallah, the capital of the Palestinian Authority, after the attack on the hospital. Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Turkey have also condemned the attack. "The expansion of Israeli attacks on hospitals, schools and other population centers is a dangerous escalation," Qatar's foreign ministry said.
Also, this Tuesday afternoon, six people have died after a UN Palestine Relief Agency (UNRWA) school in which 4,000 people were taking refuge was attacked by Israel. According to UNRWA, dozens of people were injured, including UN agency staff, and the school has suffered severe structural damage. Heavy Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues almost unabated following the Hamas attack on Israel ten days ago that left more than 1,500 dead. The death toll inside the Gaza enclave has already risen to more then 3,000, according to Gaza authorities, while hundreds are missing and believed to be trapped under the rubble of bomb-hit buildings. At least one million people have been forced to flee their homes in just one week.