According to Gazan health officials, an Israeli air strike was what triggered the explosion. According to the Israel Défense Forces, a botched rocket launch by a Palestinian armed organization was to blame.
A hospital in Gaza City was bombed on Tuesday, killing hundreds of Palestinians who were hiding inside at the time. When President Biden was about to come in Israel, Palestinians and Israelis both laid blame for the catastrophe on the other, according to sources in Gaza.
The explosion at the Ahli Arab hospital, according to Hamas, the organization in charge of Gaza, was brought on by an Israeli airstrike. In what may have been the bloodiest single episode of the 10-day battle, Israeli authorities claimed hours later that one of the rockets fired at Israel by Palestinian terrorists had failed shortly after launch.
The New York Times-verified images and videos that were published online showed crying bystanders, fires, bleeding and beaten bodies, and the blankets, bags, and mattresses of the dead and injured lying about them. The majority of the victims were dead when they arrived at another hospital, according to Palestinian photojournalist Ali Jadallah in Gaza City. “Several bodies were not entire.
One lady posted a video of herself wondering, “Where should I go?” She moved through the ruins of the hospital.
The photographs sparked violent responses throughout the Middle East, including major demonstrations in Beirut and a mob setting fire to the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan. Hamas’s rapid accusations accusing Israel and the delay in Israeli denials also contributed.
Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, who has little control over the West Bank, cut short a trip to Jordan where he was supposed to see Mr. Biden. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, which was considering forging diplomatic ties with Israel, ascribed the slaughter to “Zionist occupation troops.”
Tuesday night, the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that an attempted rocket fire by the Hamas-affiliated organization Islamic Jihad was what caused the explosion at the hospital. The accusations have been refuted by Islamic Jihad.
In the past, Palestinian armed organizations like Islamic Jihad have fired rockets that occasionally malfunctioned and struck civilian targets.
First given as 500 or more, the death toll was eventually reduced by the Gazan health ministry to “hundreds.” None of the estimates could be independently verified, but it is obvious from images of the Anglican Church-run hospital and testimonies made by witnesses that the actual number was greater.
The catastrophe instantly caused a problem for Mr. Biden, who is due to go to Israel on Wednesday in an effort to diffuse the situation by meeting with regional leaders. The meeting between Mr. Abbas and the presidents of Jordan and Egypt was supposed to take place in Amman, but it was postponed late Tuesday.
Mr. Biden expressed his shock and sadness over the bombing at the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza and the tragic deaths that followed shortly before boarding Air Force One for his trip to Israel.
He claimed to have given his national security staff the order to investigate what had occurred.
In reprisal for the murder and kidnapping of Israelis on October 7, Israeli aircraft have started hitting Gaza. With the bombing campaign and Israel’s order to evacuate northern Gaza, including Gaza City, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to from their homes, tens of thousands have been dead or maimed, and people all across the region are in desperate need of water, food, fuel, and medication.
Fighting over food sprang out among those who had abandoned their houses, and hospitals couldn’t handle the influx of injured people. Many were sleeping on the streets. After more than a week of negotiations, there has still been no progress on establishing safe zones for civilians inside Gaza, where more than 2 million people are besieged in appalling conditions and in need of life-saving supplies.
Humanitarian and human rights organizations have increased their condemnation of the Israeli evacuation and bombing order. While Israeli authorities swear they are focusing on Hamas officials, weapons stockpiles, tunnels, and safe houses—all of which are intricately linked to Gaza’s civilian infrastructure—they do not rule out striking homes and mosques or killing and injuring civilians.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated in a statement on Tuesday that there were “daily indications of violations of the laws of war and international human rights law” in Israel’s operation in Gaza prior to the hospital explosion. The statement also stated that people should be informed that the evacuation of northern Gaza may be regarded as a forced relocation of a population, which is against international law in and of itself.
The United Nations said on Tuesday that more than 600,000 Palestinians, or more than half of the territory’s population, have left northern Gaza. On Tuesday, the UN reported that Israel had requested Gazans to leave for safety reasons as it bombarded and got ready for a potential ground assault. Air strikes have killed individuals in the south and on the highways heading there, so there is no assurance of safety during the escape.
Mohammed Ayoub, 57, and his family were attacked in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, where they had fled with only a few personal belongings from northern Gaza. Even in these places, which they describe as secure, there is regular bombing, Mr. Ayub claimed. Yet, this is the only location in Gaza that is safe.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said that it had increased its shelling of the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. According to Gaza authorities, 80 Palestinians were killed in the assaults during the course of the previous night. Major Nir Dinar, the army’s spokesperson, stated that although Hamas fighters are hiding among Palestinian civilians and southern Gaza is not entirely safe, it is more secure than the north and Israel wishes to prevent civilian fatalities.
Israel and Hamas have fought many times before, but never on this magnitude, and this battle is starting to draw attention from across the world. Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, traveled to Israel on Tuesday to express his support for that nation, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to meet with local officials on Thursday to discuss the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Mr. Biden has consistently stated that Israel has the right to defend itself and that the attack by Hamas was “pure evil,” while simultaneously expressing concern for the human toll.
The Yom Kippur War, which started in 1973 with a surprise invasion by Egypt, Syria, and numerous other governments, was the biggest security breach in Israeli history before the Hamas strike made October 7 the deadliest day in Israeli history. Around 1,400 people were killed, mostly civilians and many of them foreigners, in a well-planned attack by thousands of Hamas militants who broke through the border fence several times and swept into Israel, seizing towns, military bases, and a music festival. Additionally, 200 hostages were taken back to Gaza by the militants.
Israel has responded to the attack with the heaviest bombing campaign it has ever launched against Hamas in an effort to weaken the organization’s ability to defend itself. Netanyahu said last week that “every member of Hamas is a dead man.” “
On Monday, officials announced that the bombing had claimed more than 2,800 lives in Gaza. At least 14 UN employees, 28 healthcare professionals, and 11 journalists were among those who died, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. While rescuers attempted to uncover them, officials in Gaza estimated that at least 1,200 more people may still be trapped beneath the wreckage.
Hamas released a video of the 21-year-old Israeli lady that she was holding late on Monday, and it gave her family and the other captives both hope and pain. According to the organization, both Hamas fighters and a number of captives were slain during an Israeli airstrike.
There is no evidence that Hamas followed through on its promise to kill a captive anytime Israel bombarded a home in Gaza, which it made last Thursday.
Many in southern Gaza spend their days searching for food and water while spending their nights in cramped apartments with other families, camped out in their cars, or sleeping on the streets. Some of them claim that the situation is so bad that despite the dangerous hazards, they are thinking of going back to their homes in the north. It is getting harder to find out where to go or how to get there because the bombing has disrupted internet and cellular connection.
The general manager of Nasir Hospital in Khan Younis, Dr. Mohammad Zakout, declared that “today is worse than all the awful days before.”
Since so many residents of the north have been evacuated, there are more people living in each residence, which raises the number of victims in each assault.
The majority of the electricity has been lost due to the bombing, and the gasoline in the emergency generators at hospitals, shelters, water pumping stations, and desalination facilities has ran out. The Gazan health ministry issued a statement stating that “hospitals have reached a period of true collapse owing to power outages and fuel shortages.”
The World Health Organization issued a warning that a lack of water and congestion would result in unhygienic conditions and disease outbreaks.
Israel and Egypt are Gaza’s sole neighbors, and both countries have a partial siege on the region since Hamas came to control there in 2007. After the Hamas assault, Israel established a “complete blockade,” shutting the border with Gaza and amassing troops and armored vehicles. boundary.
Due to this, the Rafah border is the sole avenue for individuals to enter Egypt while escaping, including 500–600 nationals and permanent residents of the United States. Yet, rumours of impending agreements to unlock that door and supply supplies have turned out to be untrue.
