Reactions to strike on Gaza hospital killing hundreds
Israel's military denied responsibility for the bombing, saying military intelligence suggested the hospital was hit by a failed rocket launch by the enclave's Palestinian Islamic Jihad military group
A blast at a hospital in Gaza City killed some 500 Palestinians on Tuesday in the deadliest single incident since Israel launched an unrelenting bombing campaign in retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas cross-border attack.
Israel's military denied responsibility for the bombing, saying military intelligence suggested the hospital was hit by a failed rocket launch by the enclave's Palestinian Islamic Jihad military group.
Following are reactions to the bombing:
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US PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
"I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted. Immediately upon hearing this news, I spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and have directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened. The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy."
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
"WHO strongly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip. The hospital was operational, with patients, health and care givers, and internally displaced people sheltering there. Early reports indicate hundreds of fatalities and injuries.
"The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military. The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced.
"WHO calls for the immediate active protection of civilians and health care. Evacuation orders must be reversed. International humanitarian law must be abided by, which means health care must be actively protected and never targeted.
PALESTINIAN HAMAS LEADER ISMAIL HANIYEHI
"The hospital massacre confirms the enemy's brutality and the extent of his feeling of defeat," he said, adding that the attack will be "a new turning point."
ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
"The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF. Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children."
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL Antonio Guterres
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "horrified" by the deadly strike on a hospital in Gaza, he said in a social media post Tuesday.
"My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law," Guterres said in the message on X.
ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESMAN
"An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit.
"Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza."
SYRIAN PRESIDENCY
"Syria holds Western countries responsible especially the
United States of America, for this massacre and others, since
they are a partner of the Zionist entity across all organized
operations designed to kill Palestinians."
TURKISH PRESIDENT TAYYIP ERDOGAN
"I call on all humanity to take action to stop this unprecedented brutality in Gaza."
SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned in the "strongest terms" an Israeli air strike that killed about 500 Palestinians at a Gaza City hospital crammed with patients and displaced people.
"Saudi Arabia categorically rejects this brutal attack, which is a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, including international humanitarian law," the foreign ministry said.
The ministry also denounced Israel for its "continuous attacks against civilians despite many international appeals" to stop.
"This dangerous development forces the international community to abandon double standards and selectivity in applying international humanitarian law when it comes to Israeli criminal practices. It requires a serious and firm stance to provide protection for defenseless civilians," a ministry statement said.
EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT ABDEL FATTAH EL-SISI
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued a statement on Tuesday, saying: "I condemn in the strongest of terms Israel's bombardment" on a hospital in Gaza, and calling it a "clear violation of intl law."
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON
French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday "nothing can justify targeting civilians" after the deadly strike on a Gaza hospital and called for humanitarian access to the coastal strip "without delay."
"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," he wrote on X.
"Humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip must be opened without delay."
