Palestinians gathered around the body of a Palestinian killed in an airstrike on al-Ahli Arab (al-Ahli Arab) hospital in central Gaza after the body was taken to Shifa (Shifa) hospital. Medical personnel and civilians collected the body in white bags and blankets. The hospital's courtyard was littered with blood stains and several torched cars. Tens of thousands of Palestinian families rushed to the devastated hospital in the Gaza Strip to take refuge from the seemingly endless Israeli bombardment.
Palestinian Gaza authorities said hundreds of people were killed in an air raid on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the Gaza Strip on October 17, 2023. The Gaza Health Ministry said on October 17 that at least 500 people were killed in an attack on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, which was packed with patients in central Gaza. The Hamas armed wing, which governs the Palestinian territory, said the Israeli attack was a war crime; images shared on social networking sites showed the building engulfed in flames, with extensive damage and bodies strewn among the wreckage. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said it was outrageous and showed a gross disregard for civilian life.
Israeli forces began attacking Gaza from the air on October 7, following an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 17 inside Israel. Tens of thousands of Palestinians seeking refuge from the subsequent bombardment fled to hospitals throughout Gaza. The bodies included patients and displaced Palestinians, and the attack on the hospital sparked international condemnation. The Israeli military blamed the explosion at the hospital on a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. The Islamic Jihad group denied responsibility.
The hospital attack sparked anti-Israeli protests in the occupied West Bank and several Middle Eastern cities. Jordan canceled a summit scheduled for October 18 that was to be attended by the presidents of the U.S., Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas withdrew from the meeting in Amman, saying the targeting of hospitals was an ugly war massacre and unacceptable. Gaza's Health Ministry said Wednesday's explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital was the result of an Israeli military air raid. Israel said the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militant group; the PIJ denied the allegations.
Warning: People gather around the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes on the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza after they were transported to Shifa Hospital. [Dawood Nemer/AFP]
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