Israel has denied its involvement in a deadly blast that rocked the Gaza Strip hospital, claiming that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group is responsible. What’s known so far about the deadly attack?
Palestine's Stance on Hospital Blast
Around 6,000 Palestinians were sheltering at the Anglican Al-Ahli hospital in the Gaza City when the explosion took place on Tuesday, claiming the lives of at least 500 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, insists that more than 500 people were killed by the bombing.
Gaza officials blamed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for the attack, while the Israeli military argued that the hospital was hit after the Islamic Jihad group misfired a rocket. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad are blacklisted by Israel as terrorist organizations.
People search through debris outside the site of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza on October 18, 2023 in the aftermath of an overnight blast there.
© AFP 2023 / MAHMUD HAMS
Palestinian United Nations Ambassador Riyad Mansour said that the UN’s Arab Group “condemns this action in the strongest possible terms and we hold Israel responsible for this massacre."
"We as an Arab group demand immediately a ceasefire because a continuation of the war - it means killing more Palestinians every moment," he added. Asked about the IDF’s claim that the blast was due to a botched rocket launch by Islamic Jihad, Mansour slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "a liar."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, for his part, declared three days of mourning following the attack and cancelled a planned meeting with US President Joe Biden, who arrived in Israel on Wednesday to meet Netanyahu in what US media said was a show of support.
Israel's Position
Israeli army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari has meanwhile said in a statement that “an analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit.”
“Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our possession indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch that hit the hospital in Gaza,” he argued.
The statement was echoed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, who said, “So the whole world knows: The barbaric terrorists in Gaza are the ones who attacked the Gaza hospital, not the IDF.” According to him, “Those who cruelly murdered our children murder their children as well.”
In the same vein, Israeli President Isaac Herzog rejected accusations that the IDF conducted an airstrike on the hospital as “a blood libel.”
“An Islamic Jihad missile has killed many Palestinians at a Gazan hospital — a place where lives should be saved,” Herzog tweeted.
This came as Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari told a news briefing that the IDF would soon publish the radar info, footage and a recording of militants in Gaza assigning blame to Islamic Jihad.
According to Hagari, all the information would be given to President Biden as part of a "full briefing" when POTUS arrives in Israel.
World Reaction
Israel’s allies expressed consternation over the civilian toll, but stopped short of focusing on who was behind the Gaza hospital blast.
The UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described the explosion as “a devastating loss of human life”, adding that “the protection of civilian life must come first.”
Britain “will work with our allies to find out what has happened and protect innocent civilians in Gaza,” he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that “The news coming out of Gaza is horrific and absolutely unacceptable,” and that “International law needs to be respected in this and in all cases.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "horrified" by the images of the Gaza hospital blast, tweeting that “Innocent civilians were injured and killed." "Our thoughts are with the families of the victims. A thorough investigation of the incident is imperative," he added.
US President Joe Biden said that he was “outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted.”
An array of Arab countries, in turn, harshly condemned Israel in the wake of the Gaza hospital explosion.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Riyadh “categorically rejects this brutal attack, which is a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, including international humanitarian law.”
Jordan's King Abdullah II denounced the bombing as "a heinous war crime that cannot be tolerated," adding that "Israel must immediately stop its brutal aggression against Gaza."
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi used “the strongest terms" to label the bombing as "a clear violation of international law and the provisions of international legitimacy and humanity."
The United Arab Emirates condemned what it called "the Israeli attack" and urged the international community "to intensify efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, to avoid further fueling the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and to advance all efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace, while preventing the region from being pulled into new levels of violence, tension and instability."
Iraq's government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi dubbed the Gaza hospital explosion "a war crime," arguing that the Israeli military “have crossed all the lines."
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, for her part, stressed that Moscow classifies “such a criminal act as a crime, [and] as an act of dehumanization." She emphasized that Israel must provide satellite images to prove that its army is not involved in the Gaza hospital attack.
“Provide satellite images […] that would indicate the entire geography of the flights, with all the details that were available at that moment. I think this could be a serious and important step to justify yourselves,” Zakharova said, referring to Israeli authorities.
The escalation of the situation in the Middle East has gone far beyond the region, the Russian diplomat said, calling it "a global humanitarian disaster on a global scale."