The Health Ministry run by Hamas said an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday hit a Gaza City al-Ahli Hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds in an attack that is yet by far the deadliest Israeli airstrike in five wars fought since 2008.
A Gaza civil defence chief told Al-Jazeera that more than 300 people were killed. At least 500 people were killed and injured, a Gaza health ministry official stated. Both departments are under the Hamas-run government.
But the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an initial investigation shows the explosion in Gaza’s hospital was caused by a failed Hamas rocket launch.
The strike came as the United States (U.S.) was trying to convince Israel to allow the delivery of supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals in the tiny Gaza Strip, which has been under a complete siege since Hamas’ deadly rampage on October 7. It also came a day before President Joe Biden was due to visit the region to show support for Israel and try to prevent the war from spreading.
In protest at the reported strike, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, cancelled his participation in a meeting with Biden, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egypt’s president set for Wednesday in Amman, Jordan to discuss the war.
Biden is expected to spend part of Wednesday in Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other officials as Israel prepares a ground offensive aimed at eliminating Hamas militants in Gaza. Biden will then fly to Amman for talks about accelerating humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
In Amman, he will meet Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Palestinian President Abbas, who has long been opposed to Hamas and whose organization exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
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