Ashraf Al-Qudra, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, confirmed that an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday resulted in the deaths of hundreds at a hospital in the region. However, Israel claimed that a rocket fired by a Palestinian group caused the explosion. This casualty count is the highest ever recorded in a single incident in Gaza during the ongoing violence, leading to protests in the occupied West Bank, Istanbul, Lebanon, and the Jordanian capital.
Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al-Kaila accused Israel of committing a "massacre" at the Arab National Hospital. The strike, part of an intensive Israeli bombing campaign that has lasted 11 days, resulted in hundreds of fatalities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that "barbaric terrorists" in Gaza were responsible for the attack on the hospital, not the Israeli military.
Early Wednesday, Al-Qudra reported that hundreds had been killed, with rescue workers still recovering bodies from the rubble. In the hours following the explosion, the head of Gaza's Civil Defense reported 300 fatalities, while health ministry sources estimated the number at around 500.
Israeli military spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that rockets fired by the Islamic Jihad movement passed near the hospital at the time of the strike, which he said hit the facility's parking lot. Another spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, informed CNN that the military intercepted a conversation in which militants admitted to a mistake, adding that the army would release a recording of the conversation.
The Islamic Jihad movement denied that any of its rockets caused the hospital explosion, stating that it had not carried out any activities in or around Gaza City at that time. The Iran-backed group participated in the attack led by Hamas on Israel on October 7.
Reports of the hospital bombing and the rising death toll sparked condemnation from several countries on the eve of U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Israel. Russia and the UAE called for a meeting of the UN Security Council, as clashes broke out in the West Bank.
Earlier on Tuesday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that an Israeli airstrike killed six and injured dozens after targeting one of its schools, which was being used as a shelter for displaced persons. At least 4,000 people had sought refuge in the school. The Israeli military stated it was investigating this report.
Hagari questioned the Palestinian casualty figures from the hospital bombing, asserting that the facility was not hit by a direct strike. He added that military drone footage indicated "a strike in the parking lot." He further clarified that Israeli air forces conducted operations in the area around the time of the hospital explosion "but it was with a different type of ammunition that does not... match the footage we have (of the hospital)."
Biden expressed that he was "angry and deeply saddened by the explosion" at the hospital and the loss of life. He stated in a release that he spoke with the leaders of Jordan and Israel and "ordered his national security team to continue gathering information on what precisely happened."
Before the hospital incident on Tuesday, health authorities in Gaza reported that at least 3,000 had died due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment over the past 11 days. Displaced individuals fleeing the Israeli strikes sought refuge in hospitals, hoping to find safer locations.
Last week, Israel ordered all residents in the northern half of the 45-kilometer-long Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, to evacuate their homes and head south. However, airstrikes targeted sites throughout the enclave, and despite expectations of a ground invasion, some displaced individuals began returning north.
The World Health Organization described the attack on the hospital as "unprecedented in its scale," mentioning earlier on Tuesday that healthcare facilities in Gaza had suffered dozens of attacks, with the majority of hospitals not functioning.
