2023-10-17 22:25:49
After the deadly Hamas attack on October 7, blood continues to flow. On Tuesday, a strike targeted a hospital in downtown Gaza. The Palestinian authorities reported a death toll of between 200 and 300, and blamed Israel. The Israelis, in return, judge Islamic Jihad responsible. What happened ? How did Israel and Hamas react? 20 Minutes takes stock.
What happened ?
Images circulating on social media show a missile falling overnight on the grounds of Ahli Arab hospital, located in downtown Gaza. This causes a large explosion then a cloud of smoke.
The Ministry of Health of the Palestinian territory, controlled by Hamas, spoke of “200 to 300 martyrs” killed by the airstrike. “Hundreds of victims are in the rubble,” added the Hamas ministry, without specifying whether they were dead or injured.
In Gaza, more than a million Palestinians, according to the UN, have fled their homes. These displaced people crowd by the thousands into hospitals, which have become improvised camps, in the hope of escaping Israeli strikes. The World Health Organization (WHO) had already identified on Monday “111 medical infrastructures” targeted, “12 healthcare executives killed and 60 ambulances targeted”.
Who is responsible for the attack?
Questioned during a press briefing, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari initially declared “that he did not yet have all the details”. ” We are going to watch. The strike took place a short time ago, there are already significant numbers, it is difficult to immediately assess the situation, he explained.
Later, the Israeli military finally named a culprit: “According to intelligence information, based on several sources we obtained, Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket attack that hit the hospital.” , she said in a press release.
The Hamas media office, for its part, denounced “a new war crime by the occupation” and indicated that “hundreds of patients, wounded and displaced people” were in the establishment. In another statement, Hamas calls on “the international community, Arab and Muslim countries” to “assume their responsibilities and intervene immediately, not tomorrow”.
What are the reactions of the international community?
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning in the Palestinian Territories following the attack. Abbas, whose Authority was dislodged from the Gaza Strip by Hamas Islamists in 2007, condemned a “massacre” and declared mourning to be “observed across Palestine for the victims of the brutal Israeli airstrike on al-Ahli hospital in Gaza,” according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Tuesday evening, Turkish President Erdogan demanded “an end to this unprecedented violence in Gaza”. “An attack against civilian infrastructure does not respect international law,” declared European Council President Charles Michel. Russia and the United Arab Emirates have called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.
This attack also comes before the arrival in Egypt of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who will be in Cairo on Thursday to discuss the delivery of humanitarian aid, and especially Joe Biden’s visit to Israel. The President of the United States is expected on Wednesday to demonstrate his “solidarity” with Israel, but also to negotiate a humanitarian plan for the Gaza Strip and try to prevent a regional escalation.
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