Gaza (Web Desk): Gaza’s health ministry said that over 500 Palestinians, including children and women were killed in attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on Tuesday.
The hospital, which is owned by the Anglican Church and run with the help of Christian charities, was reportedly struck without any prior warning. The corridors were filled with fleeing families seeking shelter.
It was previously hit by a rocket on Saturday in an attack that injured four medical staff.
The strike occurred at about 7:30pm local time. The hospital was packed with people injured in previous Israeli strikes, as well as civilians seeking shelter, believing the hospital grounds to be safer than their homes after relentless Israeli attacks that have already killed more than 3,000 Palestinians.
It is believed to be the biggest single loss of life in the blockaded territory in all the five wars between Hamas and Israel since the militants took over the strip in 2007.
While the Palestinian health ministry said the hospital was hit by an Israeli airstrike, Israeli military said an initial investigation suggested the explosion was caused by a failed Hamas rocket launch, before saying it was the result of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket barrage.
Islamic Jihad denied the Israeli allegation, and the scale of the blast appeared to be outside either of the militant groups’ capabilities.
Meanwhile Israel has again called on residents in Gaza City and in the northern part of the besieged enclave to evacuate to the al-Mawasi area, in the west of the Khan Younis governorate in the south.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Khan Younis and other southern areas have been hit by Israeli air attacks in previous days despite the directive for people to move south.
On Friday, at least 70 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air raids as they were fleeing from the north to the south.
At least 37 people killed in separate Israeli air raids targeting Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Many Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and Occupied West Bank had been detained.
On the other hand, Biden expected to land in Tel Aviv at 10am (07:00 GMT), where he will meet PM Netanyahu in a high-stakes visit, while Jordan has cancelled a summit with US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after the strike on Gaza’s hospital that killed at least 500 people.
Moreover, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Israel must provide satellite images to prove that it was not involved in the attack.
UN chief urges urged for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.
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Many world leaders condemn hospital attack while spontaneous protests erupt across the Middle East and elsewhere.
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