A blast at the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza that Palestinian officials said killed at least 500 people has provoked outrage and condemnation around the world.
While Palestinian officials in Gaza, governed by Hamas since 2007, said an Israeli airstrike had hit the hospital, Israel said that the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket launched by Palestinian militants.
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“According to intelligence information from a number of sources we have, Islamic Jihad terrorist organi[s]ation is responsible for the failed rocket launch that hit the hospital,” the IDF posted in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X. “Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children.”
Mai Alkaila, the health minister of the Palestinian Authority – which does not govern in Gaza but in areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank – accused Israel of carrying out a “massacre.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad has denied the blast was caused by one of its misfired rockets.
While the blast triggered angry protests throughout the Middle East, where leaders blamed Israel for the bloodshed, Western leaders appeared to give greater credence to Israel’s account and called for more clarity over what had occurred.
Here’s how the world reacted to the deadly blast.
United States
At a joint press conference in Tel Aviv with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden expressed his outrage and deep sadness at “the terrible loss of life” at the hospital, and appeared to accept Israel’s stance that it was not responsible.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. But there’s a lot of people out there not sure, so we’ve got to overcome a lot of things,” he said.
Before leaving for Israel, he said he had directed his national security team to get to the bottom of what had happened. “The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy,” he said.
United Kingdom
In a statement on Wednesday morning, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly appeared to push back against the widespread assertions of the previous night that an Israeli airstrike had caused the blast.
“Last night, too many jumped to conclusions around the tragic loss of life at Al Ahli hospital. Getting this wrong would put even more lives at risk,” he posted on X. “Wait for the facts, report them clearly and accurately. Cool heads must prevail.”
In an earlier statement late on Tuesday, he had condemned the incident as “a devastating loss of human life” and insisted that the “protection of civilian life must come first.”
“The UK will work with our allies to find out what has happened and protect innocent civilians in Gaza,” he said.
France
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack on the hospital. “Nothing can justify striking a hospital. Nothing can justify targeting civilians,” he posted on X on Tuesday night, adding: “Humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip must be opened back without delay.” But he did not apportion blame for the blast, saying that “light must be shed on the circumstances.”
European Union
On Wednesday morning, the EU called for clarity around how the devastation had occurred. Charles Michel, the European Council president said: “It’s imperative that all the facts surrounding this incident are thoroughly investigated, and those responsible are held accountable.”
Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon: “The news coming out of Gaza is horrific and absolutely unacceptable,” adding that “international law needs to be respected in this and in all cases.”
Russia
Speaking to Russian state-owned Radio Sputnik on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the devastation at the hospital “as a crime – as an act of dehumanisation.”
In a clear reference to Israel’s denial of responsibility over the blast, she said it was not enough to issue denials, and that Israel and the United States should provide proof of what had happened.
“Please be so kind as to provide satellite images, and it would be nice if American partners did it,” she said.
Jordan
Jordan cancelled a planned summit in its capital, Amman, where Biden was to meet with Arab leaders to discuss the crisis. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the meeting would be held later, at a time when all present could agree to work towards ending the “war and the massacres against Palestinians.”
Egypt
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he condemned “in the strongest possible terms Israel’s bombardment” of the hospital.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday night that Israel was responsible for the deaths at the hospital in “a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms”. It said it condemned “in the strongest possible terms the heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces.”
Iran
Iran also blamed Israel for the blast, and appeared to issue a threat in response. Arriving in Saudi Arabia after the blast on Tuesday for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian posted on X that “after the terrible crime of the Zionist regime in the bombing and massacre of more than a thousand innocent women and children in the hospital, the time has come for the global unity of humanity against this fake regime.”
“Time is OVER,” he posted.
The message was reiterated by Iran’s embassy in Syria, which posted on X in Hebrew and Arabic: “Time is up.”
