Hamas blamed an Israeli air strike, while the Israeli military said the hospital was hit by a rocket misfired by Palestinian militants
A massive blast has rocked a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds of people, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.READ MORE - Ursula von der Leyen 'should resign' - calls for government to demand EU chief step down over pro-Israeli stance
Hundreds of Palestinians had taken refuge in al-Ahli and other hospitals in Gaza City in the past few days, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip. Ambulances and private cars rushed some 350 casualties from the al-Ahli blast to Gaza City’s main hospital, al-Shifa, already overwhelmed with wounded from other strikes, said its director, Mohammed Abu Selmia.
The Hamas attack on October 7 in southern Israel killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and took some 200 captive into Gaza.In protest over the purported air strike, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cancelled his participation in a meeting with Mr Biden, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egypt’s president set for Wednesday in Amman, Jordan, to discuss the war. Mr Abbas’ Palestinian Authority runs parts of the West Bank.
“We are preparing for the next stages of war,” military spokesman Lt Col Richard Hecht said. “We haven’t said what they will be. Everybody’s talking about a ground offensive. It might be something different.” Shelling from Israeli tanks hit a UN school in central Gaza where 4,000 Palestinians had taken refuge, killing six people and wounding dozens, the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency said. At least 24 UN installations have been hit in the past week, killing at least 14 of the agency’s staff.A barrage of strikes crashed into the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, levelling an entire block of homes and causing dozens of casualties among families inside, residents said.
“Not only is it targeting and murdering civilians with unprecedented savagery, it’s hiding behind civilians,” he said. Tzahi Hanegbi, head of Israel’s National Security Council, suggested the entry of aid also depended on the return of hostages held by Hamas. The UN agency for Palestinians said more than 400,000 displaced people are crowded into schools and other facilities in the south with little food or water.
Repeated reports that an opening was imminent have proven false as negotiations continued to grind on.
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