Over 300 Killed in Strike on Gaza Hospital-Turned-Shelter

At least 300 killed after Israeli airstrikes hit Al-Ahli Al-Arabi hospital in Gaza city.

At least 300 people were killed and more were injured after an airstrike hit a hospital in Gaza on 17 October, reported local authorities.

The attack occurred at Al Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza, with the Hamas media office calling it a “war crime”.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have denied that the strike originated from the IDF, claiming that it was a misfired barrage of rockets from the Palestine Islamic Jihad militant group. However, Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi strongly condemned the “intentional” Israeli strike, describing it as a “clear contradiction to the terms of international legitimacy and to humanity”.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has called for a three-day mourning period for the casualties of the blast.

The hospital did not only house a large number of those who were injured by the ongoing series of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, but it also served as a shelter for many of those who were displaced after Israel ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza.

Hundreds remain unrecovered in the wreckage of the building and the death toll is expected to rise, likely making it the deadliest Israeli airstrike on Gaza since 2008.

The total death toll of Israel’s ongoing attack on Gaza has surpassed 3,000, with 12,500 more injured.

This is a developing story.