LAST UPDATE | 17 Oct 2023
THE GAZAN HEALTH Ministry has said at least 500 people have been killed in a hospital explosion it claims was caused by an Israeli air strike.
However, the Israel Defense Forces said this evening that they believe the Islamic Jihad militant group is responsible for the hospital attack.
Photos from the al-Ahli Hospital in Northern Gaza showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass and bodies scattered across the area.
The ministry in Hamas-run the Palestinian territory said at least 500 people had been killed. If confirmed, the attack would be by far the deadliest Israeli air strike in five wars fought since 2008.
The ministry claimed “two hundred to 300″ people were killed in strikes on the yard of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza. Shortly after, the ministry said the death toll was at least 500. “Hundreds of victims are still under the rubble,” it added.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari earlier said there were still no details on the hospital deaths, adding: “We will get the details and update the public. I don’t know to say whether it was an Israeli air strike.”
The Israel Defense Forces said this evening that they believe the Islamic Jihad militant group is responsible for the hospital attack.
“An analysis of IDF (army) operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit,” the military said in a statement.
“Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza,” the statement said, referring to another Gaza-based militant group which has claimed to be fighting Israel alongside Hamas.
The Head of Palestinian Mission to the UK, Husam Zomlot, labelled the strike a “massacre”.
“Hundreds are killed in an Israeli strike on the Episcopal (Anglican) Church hospital (Al Ahli Arab Hospital) in [Gaza], there were hundreds of medical staff, patients and civilians taking refuge under Church protection,” Zomlot said on X, formerly Twitter, this evening.
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has declared three days of mourning for victims, according to local media reports. Abbas also ordered that flags be flown at half-mast.
Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for hundreds of people, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.
In the south, continued strikes killed dozens of civilians and at least one senior Hamas figure in attacks it says are targeted at militants. The media office of Gaza’s Hamas government described the attack as a “war crime”.
“The hospital was housing hundreds of sick and wounded, and people forcibly displaced from their homes” because of other strikes, a statement said.
Speaking to RTÉ this evening, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed he had heard what he described as “very worrying reports” of a strike on a hospital in Gaza.
“We don’t have the full information yet but, it emphasises – very much – our view that civilian infrastructure should not be targeted,” the Taoiseach said.
Leo Varadkar has repeated his insistence that civilian infrastructure must not be targeted in Gaza, after reports that Israeli air strikes on a Gaza hospital compound sheltering displaced people have killed at least 300 | Read more: https://t.co/JPYeys7ytu pic.twitter.com/f4aUy8hGAJ
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 17, 2023
“There is evidence that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as a cover for its operations but that doesn’t justify operations that may cause the deaths of hundreds of civilians,” he added.
Last week, Varadkar said to media and in the Dáil many times, that it is Ireland’s view that Israel has a right to defend itself but must be proportionate in its response to Hamas’ 7 October attacks.
The foreign ministry of Egypt said it condemns “in the strongest terms” the bombing of the Gazan hospital this evening.
Speaking on behalf of the World Health Organisation (WHO), its chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X it ”strongly condemns” the attack on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.
“Early reports indicate hundreds of deaths and injuries,” Dr Tedros said. “We call for the immediate protection of civilians and health care, and for the evacuation orders to be reversed.”
In a separate statement on X this evening, the WHO said it “strongly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip”.
“The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military,” it said on X.
WHO statement on attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital and reported large-scale casualties
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) October 17, 2023
WHO strongly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip. The hospital was operational, with patients, health and care givers, and internally displaced people… pic.twitter.com/iduiD0pA3q
“The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced.
WHO calls for the immediate active protection of civilians and health care. Evacuation orders must be reversed.”
“International humanitarian law must be abided by, which means health care must be actively protected and never targeted,” it added.
ActionAid Ireland has also condemned “in the strongest terms” the bombing of Gaza’s Al Ahli Al Arabi Al Ma’amadani Hospital.
The international aid charity described it as an “egregious violation of international humanitarian law”.
ActionAid Ireland CEO, Karol Balfe, said tonight: “Hospitals in Gaza are seen as a place of safety and refuge for many civilians seeking shelter during continuous bombardment.
“It is imperative that the international community unites to hold those responsible accountable,” she added.
We cannot be clearer; civilians must be protected under humanitarian law – they are not a target.”
Posting on X shortly after the strike, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the “only thing” that should enter Gaza “are hundreds of tons of explosives from the Air Force, not an ounce of humanitarian aid”.
Ben-Gvir suggested that the bombardment of Gaza would come to an end, and humanitarian aid would be provided, if Hamas hand back their Israeli hostages.
“As long as Hamas does not release the hostages in its hands – the only thing that needs to enter Gaza are hundreds of tons of explosives from the Air Force, not an ounce of humanitarian aid,” he said on X.
The strike has yet to be confirmed by the Israeli Defence Forces, a spokesperson said the force would “look into” the matter.
Includes reporting from © AFP 2023 and Press Association.
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