Gaza Hospital blast: IDF says ‘Islamic Jihad failed rocket launch hit hospital’ which killed about 500 people

Israel-Hamas war: Gaza health ministry spokesman has said that hundreds of people have been killed in a blast at a Gaza City hospital al-Ahli Hospital on Tuesday. After the first hour of the the blast, a Gaza civil defence chief said 300 people were killed, while health ministry sources put the figure at 500, as reported by Reuters. 

Israeli and Palestinian officials are blaming each other for the blast which sparked unrest in the West Bank and other parts of the Middle East. 

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Speaking on the attack at a hospital in Gaza, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari confirmed Islamic Jihad was responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza. He said that as per the analysis by the IDF operational systems, it indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to al-Ahli Hospital there.

In a video message posted on social media platform X, Hagari said, “I can confirm that an analysis by the IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, at the time it was hit.”

He said that as per intelligence sources, the Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza.

"Intelligence from a few sources indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza, This is the responsibility of Islamic Jihad that killed innocents in the hospital in Gaza," he added.

Attempts to manage the issue will be made more difficult regardless of who is proven to be at fault for the explosion, which Hamas said killed patients and others who had been rendered homeless by Israeli shelling.

Meanwhile, the blast took place on the eve of a visit by US President Joe Biden to Israel to extend his support for the country in its war with Hamas and also to hear as how Israel plans to minimize civilian casualties. Outraged over the hospital blast, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II announced they were pulling out of a planned Arab summit Wednesday with President Joe Biden.

Nations like Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and other Arab nations have condemned the hospital attack. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi declared the hospital explosion “a clear violation of international law ... and humanity.”

The blast drew condemnation across the Arab world, and protests were staged at Israel's embassies in Turkey and Jordan and near the US embassy in Lebanon, where security forces fired tear gas toward demonstrators. Television footage also showed protests in Yemen's southwestern city of Taz, as well as in the Moroccan and Iraqi capitals.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group denounced what it said was Israel's deadly attack on the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital in Gaza, run by the Anglican church, and called for "a day of unprecedented anger" against Israel and Biden's visit.

(With inputs from agencies)