2023-10-18 18:44:00
(CNN Spanish) — Reports of a deadly explosion at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on Tuesday appeared to escalate the conflict between Israel and Hamas to a new level. The tensions, which began on October 7 with a land, air and sea incursion by the extremist group Hamas into Israeli territory, and which resulted in civilian deaths and dozens of citizens kidnapped, might increase in intensity and cross borders.
Gaza has been under siege by Israel for more than a week in response to the deadly incursion by Hamas, the Islamist extremist group that controls the coastal enclave, where 2.2 million people live. Meanwhile, hospitals are struggling to care for the injured across the territory, operating with shortages of electricity and water.
Although there are cross accusations and few certainties regarding what happened, its consequences and those responsible, here we elaborate on what we know up to the moment of the explosion in the hospital:
Victims
Although the number of victims cannot be independently confirmed by CNN, initially there was talk of “hundreds of dead” and this Wednesday the Palestinian Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, said that the fatalities were 471 and that there were more than 300 wounded. That includes patients, medical staff, and people who were sheltering in the hospital in central Gaza City amid Israeli bombing. In addition to the deaths recorded, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday that many victims were still under the rubble.
In a statement, Hamas, which controls the enclave, said more than 500 people had been killed following the bombing.
For his part, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed “barbaric Gaza terrorists” for “attacking” the hospital. “Whoever brutally murdered our children is also murdering his own,” according to Netanyahu.
A girl tries to collect her belongings from the remains of vehicles destroyed by the attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on October 18. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images
Crossed accusations
Palestinian officials blamed continued Israeli airstrikes for the deadly incident. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the explosion as a “cold-blooded massacre” and said it “will forever remain a stain on the conscience of humanity, which has witnessed the horrors committed once morest the Palestinian people without taking measures to stop it.” stop it.”
But the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “categorically” denied any involvement in the hospital explosion, blaming instead a “failed rocket launch” by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, a rival Gaza extremist group.
The lack of structural damage to the hospital demonstrates that Israeli airstrikes did not cause the deadly explosion, according to the IDF. Images following the explosion showed “no craters or structural damage to nearby buildings,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“There are no craters here. The walls remain intact. This shows that it was not an aerial munition that hit the parking lot” of the hospital, Hagari said.
“We did not attack it and the intelligence reports we have suggest that it was a failed rocket launch by Islamic Jihad, and I want to add, categorically, that we did not intentionally attack any sensitive facilities, any sensitive facilities, and we definitely did not attack hospitals.” Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus had told CNN on Tuesday.
For its part, the Islamic Jihad qualified Israeli accusations as “false and unfounded” and stated that it does not use public facilities such as hospitals for military purposes, according to a written statement published Wednesday.
International reactions
The explosion at the hospital horrified the world and caused diverse reactions in the international community. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Iraq they condemned to Israel and accused its forces of bombing the hospital.
In addition, several European leaders expressed their concern and condolences between Tuesday and Wednesday over the explosion at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that “nothing can justify the attack on a hospital. Nothing can justify attacking civilians. France condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, which caused so many Palestinian victims. Our thoughts are with them. We must shed all the light on the circumstances.
“Dramatic images from Al-Ahli hospital. The human suffering is indescribable. As I said last night, it is very important to clarify the circumstances. We are in close contact with our international partners to ensure that humanitarian and medical aid can enter Gaza as quickly as possible. possible,” said Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, wrote on social media: “Dismayed by the tragic attack on the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. There is no conceivable reason to attack a facility with innocent civilians and medical staff. Attacking civilian infrastructure is not in line with international law. It is imperative that all events surrounding this incident are fully investigated and those responsible held accountable. We also urge immediate access to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip to provide assistance.”
Also Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said this Wednesday that “it is necessary to establish all the facts and those responsible must be held accountable.”
Protests in the region
Thousands of protesters shouting anti-Israeli slogans they took to the streets on Tuesday night in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Tunisia. Protests also rocked the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Meanwhile, leaders of Arab countries condemned Israel for the deadly hospital explosion.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of protesters gathered near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan. Jordanian security forces also used tear gas to disperse protesters, according to two activists and videos posted on social media.
In Lebanon, hundreds of protesters gathered on Tuesday in the square leading to the US embassy in northern Beirut and attempted to break through security barriers, according to a CNN team there. The “chaotic” scenes had calmed down in the early hours of Wednesday, according to CNN’s Ben Wedeman. Previously, the US State Department on Tuesday issued a warning asking US citizens not to travel to Lebanon.
Protesters also chanted anti-Israel slogans in Baghdad. Security officials in Baghdad told CNN that dozens of protesters tried to cross a bridge leading to the Green Zone – an area that houses Iraqi government offices and several embassies, including the US embassy – but were stopped by security forces. they prevented.
Demonstrations also took place in Iran outside the French and British embassies in Tehran, the country’s capital. Protesters chanted “death to France, England, the United States and the Zionists,” according to a video posted by Iran’s state-run RNA news outlet Wednesday morning. Demonstrations also took place in other cities, including Isfahan and Qom.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in several areas of Tunisia, the state news agency TAP reported. TAP said that “massive protests were held on Tuesday night” in several areas “in solidarity with the Palestinian people” and once morest the Israeli bombing of Gaza.
In Istanbul, Turkish security forces used water cannons and pepper spray to disperse protesters who managed to force their way into a compound where the Israeli consulate is located.
Biden’s trip to Israel and the US position regarding the explosion
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, visited Israel this Wednesday for one of the most complicated diplomatic trips of his presidency, and from there he referred to the explosion at the Gaza City hospital that, he said, appeared to have been carried out for “the other side.”
“I was deeply saddened and outraged by yesterday’s explosion at the hospital in Gaza. And from what I’ve seen, it looks like the other side did it. But there are a lot of people who aren’t safe. So we have to overcome a lot of things,” Biden said .
Joe Biden is welcomed in Israel by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US president did not elaborate on what evidence led him to that conclusion. Before leaving for Israel, according to a US official, the Government had not yet reached a conclusion regarding the origin of the rocket attack on the hospital. Biden had instructed his Homeland Security team to continue evaluating the information. Officials have not said whether the government has collected any intelligence beyond information provided by the Israelis.
CNN’s Ben Wedeman in Beirut; Aqeel Najim in Baghdad and Adam Pourahmadi, Kareem Khadder, Richard Greene, Tim Lister, Helen Regan, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Heather Law and Donald Judd contributed reporting.
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