At Least 500 Killed In Gaza Hospital After Israeli Air Strike; "War Crime," Hamas Says
According to the health ministry in the Gaza Strip, at least 500 people have been killed in an Israeli strike on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, which was housing hundreds of sick and wounded, as well as people forcibly displaced from their homes. The government of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, called the attack a “war crime.” The news agency AFP reported that the Israeli Defence Forces did not comment on the hospital attack when asked.
The ministry added that hundreds of victims are still under the rubble.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has announced three days of mourning following the attack in Gaza.
Palestinian Civil Defence called the “the deadliest Israeli air strike in five wars fought since 2008” as unprecedented and tantamount to a genocide.
“Where to go? They want to do massacres and massacres and massacres in Gaza,” Al Jazeera quoted Hassan Khalaf, the medical director of Al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City, about 1km (less than a mile) from Al-Ahli Arab, and he added that the hospital “is still burning” after Israel”s attack.
The hospital is located at the Al Zaitoon neighborhood in Central Gaza, according to reports, and the deadliest attack comes one day ahead of US President Joe Biden”s visit to Tel Aviv.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called the attack as “unspeakable horror”.
Israeli air strikes have hit Al Ahli hospital in Gaza. More than 500 people – patients, doctors & those sheltering – have been killed.
What unspeakable horror. We will mourn their loss forever.
Our leaders could have spoken up for peace. They chose to cheer on war instead.…
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 17, 2023
Since October 7, over 3,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in Gaza, as reported by the ministry. Additionally, more than 12,500 individuals have sustained injuries in the blockaded coastal enclave. In the West Bank, 61 Palestinians have been fatally wounded, with over 1,250 others suffering injuries, according to the ministry.
