Hundreds of people were killed Tuesday in a blast at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City that the Gaza health ministry says was the result of an Israeli air strike. Israel's military has denied involvement, saying the strike was the result of a rocket misfired by the Islamic Jihad militant group.
While initial reports from the Gaza estimated the death toll at over 300, some reports at the time of writing say the actual toll is more than 500.
France on Tuesday evening "firmly" condemned the strike on the hospital.
Macron's reaction
French President Emmanuel Macron said that "nothing can justify targeting civilians" the strike and called for humanitarian access to the coastal strip "without delay".
He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "Nothing can justify a strike against a hospital. Nothing can justify targeting civilians. France condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Arabi hospital in Gaza which caused so many Palestinian victims. We think of them.
"Humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip must be opened without delay."
Nothing can justify striking a hospital.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 17, 2023
Nothing can justify targeting civilians.
France condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, which made so many Palestinian victims. Our thoughts are with them. All the light must be shed on the circumstances.
For its part, the French foreign ministry said in a statement that "International humanitarian law is binding on all and must allow for the protection of civilian populations. Humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip must be opened without delay.”
Biden's Jordan visit cancelled
One of the immediate impacts of the strike has been the cancellation of US President Biden’s visit to Jordan. Jordan’s foreign minister told state-run television that Jordan has cancelled the four-way summit scheduled for Wednesday with Biden and other leaders.
Ayman Safadi told al-Mamlaka TV that the war between Israel and Hamas was "pushing the region to the brink." He said the summit would be postponed.
After visiting Israel Wednesday, Biden had planned to travel to Amman for the summit.
President Biden will no longer travel to Jordan this week after the president spoke with Jordanian King Abdullah II on Tuesday after the Gaza hospital strike, according to a White House official. Biden is flying to Tel Aviv now. https://t.co/MiTVkLbD1Y
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 17, 2023
Palestinians react
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, has also cancelled the planned meeting with Biden in the wake of the tragedy and declared three days of mourning.
According to early reports, people were seeking shelter in the hospital at the time of the blast.
The Palestinian envoy to the UN has condemned what he described as a “massacre”.
In the news conference at UN headquarters in New York alongside other Arab UN envoys, Riyad Mansour called for an immediate ceasefire to prevent more violence.
“We hold Israel for this crime. It should face justice and accountability. We as an Arab group demand immediately a ceasefire.”
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has called for a "day of rage" as hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the French and US embassies in protest.
"Let tomorrow, Wednesday, be a day of rage against the enemy," Hezbollah said in a statement, calling on fellow Muslims and Arabs to "move immediately to streets and squares to express intense anger".
Following Hezbollah's call, hundreds of demonstrators scuffled with Lebanese security forces outside the US embassy in the suburb of Awkar, where protesters hurled stones and set a building on fire,
Police fired several rounds of tear gas to disperse protesters, with medics rushing in to treat cases of suffocation.
'Totally unacceptable'
Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, for his part, described the strike as “totally unacceptable”, insisting that the perpetrators must be held to account.
"Words fail me. Tonight, hundreds of people were killed – horrifically – in a massive strike at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, including patients, healthcare workers and families that had been seeking refuge in and around the hospital. Once again, the most vulnerable,” he said in a statement.
“This is totally unacceptable.”
"The violence has to stop on all sides", Dr. Mike Ryan, Executive Director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme 👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/LYFHqGJaxI
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) October 17, 2023
Israel has been bombing targets in Gaza since Hamas militants from the territory attacked southern Israel on 7 October, triggering a war which has left thousands of dead on both sides.
The WHO called for the bombardment of Gaza to stop and for the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to be opened to allow aid into the besieged and blockaded enclave.
WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan pointed out that any hit on health care was a violation of international law.
"The attribution and causation of that, it's impossible for WHO to be able to determine," he told a press conference. "That's for others."
However, the health facilities in Gaza "are well identified, everyone knows where they are, and they need to be deconflicted and protected. Any violation of that has got to be condemned", he said.
Ryan ruled out the possibility of air dropping aid into the Gaza Strip.
"The volume of material one can deliver in an air drop is so much lower than what can be delivered by trucks and overland," he explained.
"The safest and most effective way to get aid to the people of Gaza right now is the Rafah crossing."
However, even if the border opened, "the conditions do not exist right now inside Gaza to bring aid in and deliver it safely. There must be a cessation of bombing," Ryan said.
"This cannot wait," he said, adding: "Every second we wait, we lose lives.
"The violence on all sides has to stop.
Meanwhile, the African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat on Tuesday accused Israel of a "war crime" following the air strike.
"There are no words to fully express our condemnation of Israel's bombing of a Gaza hospital today, killing hundreds of people," Faki said on X, formerly Twitter, calling for the international community to act.
(with AFP, Reuters, AP)
