Estimates indicate that between 200 and 300 people were killed by an air strike against a hospital in the center of Gaza city, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in a statement this Tuesday (17).
The note highlights that many people still remain buried under the rubble.
The Palestinian government in Gaza had said in an earlier statement that the attack on the Baptist Al-Ahli Hospital resulted in dozens of deaths.
“A new war crime committed by the occupation in the bombing of Al-Ahli Arabi Hospital, in the center of Gaza City, resulting in the arrival of dozens of martyrs and injured people at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex due to the bombing. It should be noted that the hospital was housing hundreds of patients, injured people and people forcibly displaced from their homes due to airstrikes,” the government statement said.
Hamas released a statement about the attack, classifying the act as “genocide”.
“The massacre at Al-Ahli Hospital, in the heart of the Gaza Strip, is a genocide. Enough silence about the aggression and recklessness of the occupation,” Hamas said in the statement.
Israel says attack was by Islamic Jihad
The Israeli government blamed Islamic Jihad for the attack on the hospital this Tuesday (17).
Breaking: IDF Spokesperson
From the analysis of the operational systems of the IDF, an enemy rocket barrage was carried out towards Israel, which passed through the vicinity of the hospital when it was hit.
According to intelligence information, from several sources we have,… pic.twitter.com/hdQra9QZAm
— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) October 17, 2023
Additionally, Tal Heinrich, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CNN that “the IDF does not target hospitals,” adding, “we only target Hamas strongholds, weapons depots and terrorist targets.”
According to Reuters, the spokesman for Palestinian Islamic Jihad denied that the group was responsible for the attack.
“So that the whole world knows: the barbaric terrorists in Gaza are those who attacked the hospital in Gaza, not the IDF [Forças de Defesa de Israel],” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“Whoever brutally murdered our children is also murdering your children,” he added.
Palestinian ministry says act was “cold-blooded massacre”
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs classified the attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital as a “cold-blooded massacre”.
The attack “will forever remain a stain on the conscience of humanity, which has witnessed the horrors committed against the Palestinian people without taking measures to stop them”, points out the statement.
“All rules of international law are being destroyed as thousands of people are mercilessly massacred and millions of people are being stripped of their humanity, subjected to unjustified killings, starvation and forced transfers, with no end in sight, while the forces Israeli occupation forces continue to attack the Gaza Strip, with thousands of missiles and bombs targeting civilian areas by air, land and sea and threats to commit mass murders”, highlights the note.
President of the Palestinian Authority declares mourning
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning for the victims of the Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza.
In a statement released by his office, Abbas also ordered flags to be flown at half-mast for the victims of “the Israeli aggression on al-Ahli hospital and for all the people killed by the occupation”.
PHOTOS — See images of the conflict between Israel and Hamas
Source: CNN Brasil
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