{"id":18505,"date":"2023-10-18T08:12:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T05:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=18505"},"modified":"2023-10-19T10:59:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T07:59:03","slug":"gaza-hospital-attack-kills-500-sparks-anger-and-protests-across-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/gaza-hospital-attack-kills-500-sparks-anger-and-protests-across-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza hospital attack kills 500, sparks anger and protests across Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A deadly attack at a hospital in Gaza has killed at least 500 Palestinians, prompting protests across the Middle East and North Africa region, and regional countries blaming Israel for the barbaric attack.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 500 people were reported while many victims are still under the rubble, the Palestinian authorities said, blaming Israeli forces for the attack at al-Ahli Hospital on October 17, 2023. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said \u201chundreds\u201d of people had been killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital was sheltering and treating thousands of displaced Palestinians who were trying to avoid Israeli bombing in Gaza. There were gruesome scenes at the hospital. The videos shared on social media showed fire engulfing the building and the hospital grounds strewn with torn bodies, many of them young children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a video shared on X shows a doctor testified about what he witnessed following the attack on the Gaza hospital. \u201cYou can see all the dead bodies behind me, all the casualties. They tried to find a safe place in the only Christian hospital in Gaza. They tried to find shelter and they have been attacked by barbaric bombardment,\u201d he said<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the deadliest incident in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive on the strip in response to an October 7 attack by Hamas. The bombing of the hospital is one of the many violations of the UN resolutions that Israeli forces have committed in recent times including depriving the sieged Gazans of water, food, and electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The central courtyard and parking lot area of the Ahli Hospital in Gaza after the explosion on October 17, 2023. (Image Credit: Al Masri\/Gaza Times)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The hospital bombing has significantly worsened the ongoing catastrophe, further intensifying the crisis in a region already reeling from the sudden Hamas attack on October 7 and the Israeli retaliatory airstrikes. The Hamas attack claimed the lives of 1,300 Israelis while the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have resulted in the tragic loss of over 3,000 Palestinian lives<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many world leaders and humanitarian organizations have raised concerns over Israel\u2019s actions in the region, which Tel Aviv justifies by relating to the retaliation for the attacks conducted by Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Reaction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The targeting of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza is a \u201chideous war massacre\u201d that cannot be tolerated, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said. Abbas canceled his scheduled meeting this week with President Biden following the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hospital bombing came as the U.S. President Joe Biden was en route to Israel. Biden was scheduled to attend a meeting with Egyptian, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders in Amman, which has now been canceled. Jordan\u2019s foreign minister Ayman Safadi said that Jordan was no longer holding a planned summit as \u201cthere is no use in talking now about anything except stopping the war\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House also confirmed that Joe Biden would no longer travel to Jordan. In a statement issued before he arrived in Tel Aviv, Biden said he was \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d by the \u201cexplosion\u201d and had asked his national security team to \u201ccontinue gathering information about what exactly happened\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UN Secretary-General said he was horrified by the killing of hundreds of civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza. Ant\u00f3nio Guterres strongly condemned the strike, adding that his heart is with the families of those who died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza today, which I strongly condemn. My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law.<\/p>\u2014 Ant\u00f3nio Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 17, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>