500 Palestinians killed in horrific Israeli air strike on Gaza hospital

Health officials in the besieged enclave said that an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday killed roughly 500 Palestinians at a hospital in Gaza City that was packed with patients and displaced people.

The attack was the deadliest single event to occur in Gaza since Israel began an unrelenting bombing campaign against the heavily populated area on October 7 in retaliation for a fatal cross-border Hamas attack on communities in southern Israel.

It happened on the eve of a visit by US President Joe Biden to Israel to show support for the country in its battle with Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

The horrific attack was condemned by Arab countries, Iran and Turkiye. The Palestinian prime minister called it “a horrific crime, genocide” and also held the countries supporting Israel responsible.

Approximately 500 Palestinians lost their lives in the airstrike on the Al-Ahli Al-Arabi hospital, according to sources at the Gaza Ministry of Health who spoke with Reuters.

According to Hamas, the majority of the victims of the bombing were those made homeless by Israel's bombardment, and the dead included women, children, and patients.

“There are scores of dismembered and crushed bodies, baths of blood,” said Izzat El-Reshiq, a senior Hamas member.

Several full ambulances carrying injured patients from Al-Ahli Al-Arabi Hospital were seen arriving at another Gaza hospital in the video. One man was bleeding profusely from the head and was stumbling. There was a child on a stretcher being carried.

The Israeli military claimed it was investigating but did not have any information regarding the bombing that was reported. It has charged Hamas in the past of utilising Palestinian citizens as human shields.

The Pentagon in Washington stated that while it lacked specifics, it was aware of the reports that the hospital had been struck. The Pentagon, which has already dispatched five C-17 planes with military support to Israel, restated that there were no requirements attached to the help and stated, "We expect all democracies like Israel to uphold the law of war."

At least six people were killed in an Israeli airstrike at one of UNRWA's schools, which has been serving as a shelter for displaced persons, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said earlier on Tuesday.

“This is outrageous and again it shows a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians,” UNRWA said in a social media post. “No place is safe in Gaza anymore, not even UN facilities.”

Around 3,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the authorities, in Israel's 11-day bombardment and airstrikes since Hamas carried out the attacks in Israeli towns and kibbutzes on Oct. 7.

With airstrikes, Israel has destroyed large areas of the densely populated Gaza Strip, forcing out around half of its 2.3 million inhabitants, and enforcing a complete blockade that prevents the enclave's access to food, fuel, and medical supplies.

The humanitarian situation in the enclave grew worse amid the carnage and damage as Israeli tanks and troops gathered on the border in anticipation of an impending ground invasion.

There was no indication on Tuesday that the numerous trucks laden with essential supplies for Gaza would be able to pass through the Rafah crossing in Egypt, which is the sole way to reach the coastal enclave that is not under Israeli power.