MOSCOW, Oct 18, Viktor Zhdanov. The strike on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip killed hundreds of people. Most of the victims are women and children. The IDF and Hamas blame each other. Anti-Israeli protests are intensifying in Arab countries, and the West is calling for those responsible to be held accountable. About the development of the situation — in the material.
Who is to blame The Palestinian Foreign Ministry claims that the attack was carried out by an Israeli plane. According to Turkish media — an American MK-84 aerial bomb. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh also blamed the United States, calling on Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up against the occupation. The Palestinians claim that the IDF previously threatened to hit the hospital as well as 22 medical facilities. Hamas has created a committee that is collecting evidence of Israeli guilt and promises to publish it soon.
Palestinians search for survivors among the ruins of a house after an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip
This was not the first such bombing, reported the Russian Embassy in Israel. “A few days ago there was an attack on this hospital, but without such monstrous destruction,” said Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov. The Japanese diplomatic mission said that an hour before the explosion, the Israelis called the hospital with a warning.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh called on Tel Aviv to respect the “laws of war.” The New York Times headline about the strike initially included Israel, then removed it.
Tel Aviv blamed the Islamic Jihad group for everything, which allegedly carried out an unsuccessful missile launch. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari noted that Palestine is also exaggerating the number of victims. According to the Israeli military, at this time not only were no attacks recorded, but the nature of the destruction does not allow us to talk about air bombs.
The IDF published a recording of a conversation, as they say, between Hamas members, from which it follows that the rocket was launched by militants in the sector Gaza. A video was distributed in which a rocket flying towards Haifa changed its trajectory and fell in the Gaza Strip. However, Turkish journalists found out that this was last year's filming. Israeli social media account X quickly deleted the video.
International reactionVladimir Putin called the attack on a hospital in Gaza a tragedy and a humanitarian disaster. “I really hope that this will be a signal that this conflict needs to end as quickly as possible,” the president emphasized. The Russian Foreign Ministry called for the opening of humanitarian corridors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin answers questions from Russian journalists following the results of the Third International Forum «One Belt, One Road» in Beijing
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres admitted that he was horrified by the killing of hundreds of civilians. “The fate of the entire region hangs in the balance,” he said and demanded an immediate stop to the shelling. Russia and the UAE have requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council. China also supported this. Israel is ready to provide convincing evidence of non-involvement in the attack.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that there is no justification for killing people in a hospital. “All the facts must be established and those responsible must be brought to justice. In this tragic hour, we must redouble our efforts to protect civilians from this war,” she added. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, spoke similarly.
Palestinians who survived the explosion in the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza
Angry EastMuslim countries declared October 18 a day of mourning. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan considers the incident «an example of Israeli attacks devoid of the most basic human values.» At night in Istanbul, activists broke into the Israeli embassy, after firing fireworks at it. Israel's National Security Council recommended that its fellow citizens leave the country.
In Tehran, Palestinian supporters protested at the French Embassy and demanded to declare war on Israel. A procession to the US diplomatic mission was organized in Lebanon. Washington allowed part of the diplomatic corps to leave. Hezbollah has declared a “day of unprecedented anger.”
Protests in Istanbul after the explosion at Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza
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They held rallies in Iraq, Tunisia, and Syria. Jordan's King Abdullah II called the attack on the hospital a «massacre and a war crime.» Clashes broke out in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shuafat in northeast Jerusalem. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian called for an embargo on oil imports, as well as to judge Tel Aviv for crimes against the people of Palestine.
What happens next In the morning, Joe Biden arrived in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met him at the airport. The American president does not consider Tel Aviv to be the culprit of the tragedy. According to him, Pentagon data proves the non-involvement of Israel.
Biden promised Netanyahu that the United States would provide Israel with everything it needs “for defense.” Washington is always on the side of Tel Aviv, he stressed.
US President Joe Biden during a speech on the situation in Israel
Netanyahu admitted that Israeli airstrikes are killing Gaza civilians. “Israel is targeting legitimate terrorist targets, unfortunately civilians are suffering,” he said. And he clarified: this is a war of a special type due to the specifics of Hamas’s actions.
Political scientist Sergei Markov, in a conversation with, noted that the tragedy in Gaza could help reduce tension in the region. “Many people say: a world war is about to begin. There have been a lot of outbreaks of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This happens regularly and is unlikely to end. But the war is being stopped. World leaders want this to stop and the situation to stabilize,” he believes .
In any case, Tel Aviv will not go beyond a ground operation, with which it will be completely satisfied. The occupation of the Gaza Strip could become a repeat of the sad experience for the IDF of the attempt to seize Hezbollah territory in 2006. Then, faced with a guerrilla war, Israel had to leave without victory, Markov recalled.
Israeli armored personnel carrier is heading towards the border of the Gaza Strip
The strike on the Al-Ahli hospital, while tragic, is not unprecedented. According to Samarskaya, neither side needs increased escalation because of this, although, of course, Israel and Palestine will take advantage of what happened in their own way.