Israeli and Palestinian authorities each pointed fingers at the other as they sought to assign blame for the incident, the spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has reported that hundreds of individuals lost their lives in an explosion at al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday.
During the initial hours following the blast, a Gaza civil defence leader stated that around 300 people had perished, while sources from the health ministry indicated a figure of 500, as per Reuters' report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian militants for the explosion. “The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza and not the Israel Defense Forces (IDF),” he said. “Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children.” IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari said that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the rocket that hit the hospital in Gaza.
The Palestinian militant organization Islamic Jihad dismissed the Israeli army's claims that it was behind the strike on a Gaza hospital, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds, as “false and baseless.”
“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,” it said in a statement Wednesday, as reported by AFP.
As per the statement, it said the hospital had “received public notice made global of evacuation under threat of bombing.”
In response, the Israeli military asserted that the hospital was struck by a rocket misfired by Palestinian militants from the Islamic Jihad group.
Iran, which supports Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Lebanon-based Islamist group Hezbollah have warned Israel of escalation if it fails to end aggressions against Palestinians, Reuters reported.
Founded in 1979 in Gaza, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is one of the two primary Palestinian militant organizations in Gaza, with the other being the ruling HAMAS group, according to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
While the two groups cooperate, PIJ stands apart from HAMAS in its refusal to engage in negotiations with Israel.
Since the 1980s, PIJ has been responsible for numerous attacks on Israel, including launching mortar and rocket strikes. Their operations have continued into 2023, and they have collaborated with the Hizballah terrorist group to carry out joint operations.
Under the leadership of Ziyad al-Nakhallah and an eight-member leadership council known as the General Bureau (al-Maktab al-Am), the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) maintains a 15-member political council, which represents PIJ members across various regions, including Gaza, the West Bank, Israeli prisons, and abroad.
Islamic Jihad receives its main financial support, military training, and weaponry from Iran.
Additionally, Hizballah offers a safe haven to PIJ leaders and representatives in Lebanon, likely facilitating Iran's backing of Islamic Jihad. The group also engages in joint training activities with Hamas.
Furthermore, PIJ maintains an extensive tunnel network to facilitate the smuggling of various goods, arms, and ammunition across international borders, a CIA report said.
Meanwhile, the Iranian embassy in Syria tweeted, ‘Time is up’.
Russia's foreign ministry condemned the hospital strike in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of numerous Palestinians, labelling it a shocking crime.
The ministry urged Israel to present satellite imagery as evidence of its non-involvement in the attack. Israeli envoy to India, Naor Gilon, characterized the incident as a "dehumanising" crime, said Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, on Radio Sputnik.
(With inputs from agencies)
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