Hospital bombing in Gaza claims 500 lives (video)
A massive bombing attack by the apartheid Israeli regime in Gaza today resulted in the death of at least 500 people at a hospital, with Hamas labelling the incident as a war crime. The hospital was providing refuge to hundreds of patients and injured individuals.
The Al-Ahli hospital, like many other facilities in Gaza, had been filled with Palestinians seeking shelter from the violence. The catastrophic hospital bombing occurred in Al-Ahli, a facility similar to many others in Gaza that had been overwhelmed with Palestinians seeking sanctuary in recent days.
They hoped that the hospitals would offer a degree of safety from the bombings, following an Israeli directive for all residents, including those in the northern areas, to evacuate to the southern parts of Gaza.
Verified video footage from the affected hospital showed flames engulfing the building, the hospital grounds littered with the dismembered bodies of victims.
Many of the deceased were young children, their bodies wrapped in blankets, school backpacks, and various personal items scattered around them.
Following the explosion, both ambulances and private vehicles rushed approximately 350 injured people to Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s primary healthcare facility, already overwhelmed with casualties from other attacks. The conditions within the hospital were horrific, with injured individuals lying on the floor in pools of blood, crying out in pain.
Israel and Palestine both blamed each other for the hospital bombing, with Hamas alleging an Israeli airstrike and labelling the event as a horrifying massacre.
The Israeli military, in contrast, blamed a misfired Palestinian militant rocket, which they claimed was one of many fired near the hospital at the time. They cited intelligence from various sources indicating that Islamic Jihad was responsible for the failed rocket attack.
Later, Hamas government media released a statement calling the attack on the Gaza hospital a war crime, as the hospital was sheltering hundreds of patients and injured individuals, as well as those forced to flee their homes.
Hundreds of victims remained trapped under the hospital’s rubble. The Israeli military spokesperson was unable to confirm their responsibility for the incident, merely stating that it was under investigation.
Aside from the hospital bombing, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN body responsible for Palestinian refugees, also reported an Israeli tank attack on a UN school in central Gaza, sheltering approximately 4,000 Palestinian refugees, which resulted in six deaths and dozens of injuries.
Furthermore, at least 24 UN facilities in Gaza have been attacked over the past week, resulting in the deaths of at least 14 UN personnel, reported KhaoSod.
Israel last week cut the water and electricity supply in Gaza which broke the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). IHL consists of the four 1949 Geneva Conventions, their two Additional Protocols of 1977, the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, as well as certain weapons conventions.
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