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| al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion | |
|---|---|
| Part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war | |
| Location | Gaza, Palestine |
| Coordinates | 31°30′18″N 34°27′42″E / 31.50500°N 34.46167°E / 31.50500; 34.46167 |
| Date | 17 October 2023 |
| Attack type | Disputed (claimed airstrike or missile strike) |
| Deaths | 200–500+ |
| Injured | 500+ |
| Perpetrators | Disputed |
On 17 October 2023, amid the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, an explosion occurred in the courtyard of al-Ahli Arab Hospital, in which thousands of displaced Palestinians were seeking shelter. The number of fatalities purported to be due to the explosion range from 200 to more than 500. The explosion is the largest loss of life in a single event in Gaza in the conflict between Gaza and Israel since 2008.
The cause of the explosion is disputed. The Gaza Health Ministry said the explosion was caused by an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli Defense Forces denied this, saying that the explosion was caused by a failed rocket launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad targeting the Israeli city of Haifa. An Islamic Jihad spokesman denied responsibility.
Background
The hospital has been in operation since 1882. It was founded by the Church of England's Church Mission Society and was later run as a medical mission by the Southern Baptist Conference between 1954 and 1982. It returned to the Anglican Church in the 1980s. It was operated by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, which reported that it had about 80 beds, and was the only Christian hospital in the Gaza Strip.
Since the evacuation of Northern Gaza began, al-Ahli Arab Hospital took hundreds of those displaced in response to the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The hospital was damaged by Israeli rocket fire late on 14 October, leaving four staff members injured, according to a statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Before the rocket fire on 14 October, the hospital sheltered around 6,000 displaced persons; subsequently many of them fled, with around 1,000 remaining in the courtyard. On 16 October, Israel ordered 21 hospitals in Gaza, including the al-Ahli Arab Hospital, to evacuate. Because there aren't enough beds at hospitals in the south to accommodate patients, hospitals in northern Gaza have disregarded Israeli warnings to evacuate, according to medics. Roads that have been damaged or blocked by the wreckage of days of Israeli bombing make it impossible to transport many patients, especially those who are ventilator-dependent or newborns.
Explosion and responsibility
The number of persons killed in the explosion, as well as the cause of the explosion, has not been independently verified.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claimed that at least 500 people were killed in the blast, and blamed an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli Defense Forces said that cause of the blast was a misfired rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a Palestinian militant group allied with Hamas. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that intelligence indicated that PIJ had launched a barrage of rockets near the hospital, and shared done-collected aerial photography that he said was inconsistent with Israeli munitions. The IDF said that Israeli had intercepted discussions among militants saying that their misfired rocket caused the explosion. PIJ denied responsibility.
The director of the Al-Shifa Hospital reported that around 350 injured people were brought to his hospital by both ambulances and personal cars.
Reactions
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning following the deadly event and canceled a planned meeting with US President Joe Biden. Biden said, "I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion", but did not attribute blame for the incident. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the explosion as "horrible" and "unacceptable", but did not assign blame. The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, condemned the alleged attack. The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, condemned the "totally unacceptable" and "horrific" strike and demanded accountability. Médecins Sans Frontières said it was "horrified" by the "Israeli bombing" and called it a "massacre". The Red Cross was "shocked and horrified" by the reports.
Hezbollah called the blast an Israeli "massacre", calling in a statement for a "day of rage" on 18 October against Israel and President Biden's pending visit there.
Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey also condemned the alleged attack, while Qatar condemned what they described as "a dangerous escalation". Saudi Arabia condemned Israel for the alleged attack, which it described as a "heinous crime". Russia and the UAE called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council. The King of Jordan, Abdullah II, said that the Middle East was "on the brink of falling into the abyss" amid fears that the conflict could escalate into a wider war involving other armed groups. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed a "harsh response" to what happened.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned Palestinian Islamic Jihad, writing, "Shame on the vile terrorists in Gaza who wilfully spill the blood of the innocent." Herzog said that accusations that Israel caused the blast were "a 21st-century blood libel."
The explosion sparked protests in a number of countries, including Canada, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Yemen. In Ramallah and other cities in the West Bank, protestors chanted against Mahmoud Abbas and threw stones, leading to police using tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to disperse protestors. Thousands of protestors marched outside the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul to protest against the war, and in Jordan, protestors attempted to storm the Israeli embassy. The US and French embassies in Beirut also faced protests aimed at their support for Israel.
The quadrilateral summit, which was supposed to include King Abdullah II, Mahmoud Abbas, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Joe Biden, was canceled after Jordan decided to annul it and Abbas withdrew from it.
Following the explosion, the official account of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deleted a post on X in which he called Palestinians "children of darkness" who follow "the law of the jungle."
See also
- October 2023 UNRWA school airstrike
- Al-Shati refugee camp airstrike
- Jabalia camp market airstrike
- Outline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
- Timeline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
References
- ^ Ibrahim, Arwa; Siddiqui, Usaid; Mohamed, Edna; Hatuqa, Dalia; Stepansky, Joseph. "Hundreds of casualties as Israel hits Gaza hospital sheltering thousands". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ Chao-Fong, Léonie; Belam, Martin; Sullivan, Helen (17 October 2023). "Israel-Hamas war live: at least 500 casualties in Gaza hospital strike, health ministry says". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- "Israel and Palestinian militants blame each other after hospital blast kills hundreds in Gaza". ABC News. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ Jobain, Nayib; Kullab, Samya; Nessman, Ravi; Lee, Matthew (17 October 2023). "Gaza Health Ministry says death toll in Gaza City hospital blast rises to at least 500". AP News. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- Fabian, Emanuel (17 October 2023). "IDF says assessment shows failed Islamic Jihad rocket launch caused Gaza hospital blast". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ "Israel Gaza live news: Hundreds killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital - Palestinian officials". BBC News. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ Al-Mughrabi, Nidal (17 October 2023). "Hundreds killed at Gaza hospital amid conflicting claims". Reuters. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- Paulsen, David (16 October 2023). "Anglican hospital among facilities struggling to respond to growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza". Episcopal News Service. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ Boorstein, Michelle; Brasch, Ben. "Bombed Gaza hospital owned by a branch of the Anglican Communion". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- "Gaza hospitals are 'facing catastrophe', says Archbishop of Canterbury". The Archbishop of Canterbury. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- Abdel-Baqui, Omar; Jones, Rory (17 October 2023). "Israeli Airstrike on Gaza Hospital Kills More Than 500, Palestinian Officials Say". Wall Street Journal. New York. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- "Israel-Hamas War". The New York Times.
- Presse, AFP-Agence France. "Gaza Hospital Strike 'Totally Unacceptable': UN Rights Chief". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- https://x.com/MSF/status/1714363236315779572?s=20
- https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/17/world/gaza-news-israel-hamas-war/3c2b8f1e-92bb-5c08-a770-3f132659a82e?smid=url-share
- Agency, Iraqi News. "Iraq strongly condemns the Zionist entity's bombing of a hospital in Gaza". Hatha Alyoum News. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- "Saudi Arabia 'strongly condemns Israel's heinous crime' at Gaza hospital". Ynetnews. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ Lazar Berman, Herzog says accusations Israel is behind Gaza hospital blast are ‘blood libel', Times of Israel (October 17, 2023).
- Protesters attempt to storm Israeli embassy in Jordan, 17 October 2023, retrieved 17 October 2023
- "طوفان الأقصى مباشر.. الاحتلال يرتكب مجزرة جديدة بقصف مستشفى المعمداني بغزة". www.aljazeera.net (in Arabic).
وزير الخارجية الأردني للجزيرة: قررنا عدم عقد القمة الرباعية في عمان لأن واشنطن لن تكون قادرة على اتخاذ قرار بوقف الحرب
- Sheth, Sonam. "Netanyahu deleted a post on X about a struggle against 'children of darkness' around the time of a tragic hospital explosion in Gaza". Business Insider. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- Ghosh, Poulomi (18 October 2023). "Netanyahu deletes 'children of darkness' post after Gaza hospital attacked". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
