Gaza Hospital Attack: What Hamas Said, Why Israel Blamed Islamic Jihad & How the World Reacted | EXPLAINED

An airstrike at a Gaza hospital killed hundreds of people on Tuesday in one of the deadliest blasts sparking global condemnation and violent protests. As per reports, around 500 people have been reportedly killed in the blast at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza for which Hamas and Israel traded charges holding each other responsible for the incident.

Gaza’s Health Ministry blamed Israeli airstrike for the deadly blast at the hospital and claimed that the attack killed at least 500 people. Al-Ahli was crowded both with victims of 10 days of Israeli airstrikes and with families and others who have taken refuge on hospital grounds. Israeli Defense Forces, meanwhile, blamed Palestinian militants, saying an outgoing Islamic Jihad rocket misfired.

On the ground in Gaza, there were scenes of chaos as the injured and dead were taken to nearby medical centres. Al-Ahli was crowded both with victims of 10 days of Israeli airstrikes and with families and others who have taken refuge on hospital grounds. Hospitals in Gaza are seeing around 1,000 new patients per day, in a health system with only 2,500 hospital beds for a population of over 2 million people.

After the airstrike, scores of bodies cloaked in blood-stained sheets and white plastic wrap lined the floors. Visuals showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass and body parts scattered across the area. If confirmed, the attack would be by far the deadliest Israeli airstrike in five wars fought since 2008.

The conflict has entered its 12th day on Wednesday with the Israeli forces launching withering strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza in retaliation for the killing of 1,400 Israelis in October 7 cross-border raids.

What Has Hamas Said on the Attack

Hamas was quick to blame an Israeli air strike for causing the explosion at the Al Ahli hospital. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, widely considered to be the faction’s overall leader, in a surprising move, blamed the US as responsible for the attack stressing that Washington gave Israel the “cover for its aggression”.

“The hospital massacre confirms the enemy’s brutality and the extent of his feeling of defeat,” Haniyeh said in a televised address.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the targeting of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza was a “hideous war massacre” that cannot be tolerated. The Gaza Health Ministry also blamed the Israeli airstrike for the attack, which killed at least 500 people.

“In light of this calamity that occurred tonight, and out of concern for our people, I decided to cut short my visit and return to the homeland to be among my people in this great ordeal, and I agreed with the brothers in Jordan and Egypt to cancel the summit that was scheduled today in Amman with President Biden,” Abbas said.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey also accused Israel of bombing the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.

Israel Blames Islamic Jihad

Israeli authorities have, however, denied involvement with the Israeli Defence Forces saying rockets misfired by Islamic Jihad militants towards Israel failed after launch and hit the hospital. The rocket was fired by Hamas and its associate Palestinian Islamic Jihad towards Israel, sources said. However, due to the proximity to the hospital, it hit the medical facility directly causing deaths.

A statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that an analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing close to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit. Many civilians were hiding in the hospital where there were many people taking shelter along with the injured receiving treatment. So, the casualty was unusually high.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the army was determined that there were no air, ground or naval attacks in the area at the time of the blast, around 7 pm. The Israeli radars detected outgoing rocket fire at the same moment and intercepted communications between the militant groups indicating that the Islamic Jihad fired the rockets.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also blamed “barbaric terrorists in Gaza” for the deaths. “So the whole world knows: The barbaric terrorists in Gaza are the ones who attacked the Gaza hospital, not the IDF (Israel Defence Forces),” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Those who cruelly murdered our children, murder their children as well,” he added.

Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Netanyahu, backing his government’s position said, “We know that at the time of this tragedy in Gaza, there was a huge barrage against targets in central Israel. We had the siren here in Tel Aviv, and I went to a bomb shelter.” “We know they fired rockets at that same time. Hamas put out a statement that they were sending a long-range rocket on Haifa [northern Israel] at this time,” Regev pointed out.

The sources added that 450 Hamas rockets have failed to strike the target and fallen within the Gaza Strip since the fighting began two weeks ago. Israel has again called on residents in Gaza City and in the northern part of the besieged enclave to evacuate to the south.

Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said that Israel must provide satellite images to prove that it was not involved in the Gaza hospital attack.

International Outrage

1. From Tripoli to Tehran there was a furious response across the Muslim world. Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and other Arab nations condemned the hospital attack, or declared days of national mourning.
2. Protestors in Jordan, home to millions of Palestinian refugees, tried to storm the Israeli embassy.
3. In Lebanon, demonstrators clashed with security forces outside the US embassy. Stones were hurled and a building set on fire.
4. The explosion has derailed the diplomatic efforts led by the US to mobilise support for “Israel’s right to defend itself” with a summit between American President Joe Biden and Arab leaders in Jordan’s Amman being called off.
5. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced that Biden’s summit in Amman scheduled to take place on Wednesday with Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been cancelled.
6. The White House and Jordan’s government announced within hours of the attack that Biden’s meeting with Arab leaders was off.
7. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi declared the hospital explosion “a clear violation of international law … and humanity.”
8. The United Nations, its top leaders and agencies have expressed horror and strong condemnation over the killing of hundreds of civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza, underscoring that attack on hospitals or civilian infrastructure is against international humanitarian law and called for holding those responsible to account.
9. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on X: “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.”