Explosion Kills 500 at Gaza Hospital, Israel & Hamas Blame Each Other

An explosion at a hospital in Gaza killed at least 500 people on Tuesday, sparking outrage all over the world.

Palestinian authorities blamed Israeli airstrikes for the explosion. But Israel alleged the blast occurred due to a Hamas rockets misfiring.

The Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said at a press conference that during the time of the strike, Israel was not conducting any aerial operations near the hospital and the rockets that were used did not match their equipment.

The Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, released a statement that read: “The Zionist enemy is trying hard to evade its responsibility for the brutal massacre he committed by bombing the Baptist Arab National Hospital in Gaza through his usual fabrication of lies, and through pointing the finger of blame at the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine.”

Following the hospital bombing, US President Joe Biden, who will be in Israel on Wednesday, spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted,” Biden said in a statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the deadly airstrike, calling it a “horrific” attack. The World Health Organisation (WHO) termed the hospital strike as “unprecedented in its scale”, adding that 115 healthcare facilities in Gaza have been attacked, leaving most of the city’s hospitals out of operation.