“In Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, a powerful explosion shook a heavily populated Gaza City hospital, where numerous injured Palestinians and those seeking refuge had gathered on Tuesday. According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, this tragic incident resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives. Hamas attributed the incident to an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military claimed it was caused by a rocket misfire from Palestinian militants.
The Health Ministry reported a devastating death toll of at least 500 people as a result of this tragic event.
In the wake of the hospital tragedy, anger and unrest escalated in the region. Concurrently, President Joe Biden was en route to the Middle East with the aim of preventing the further escalation of the conflict. However, Jordan’s foreign minister announced the cancellation of a regional summit that was scheduled to take place in Amman on Wednesday. This summit was intended to bring together President Biden, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.”
The war between Israel and Hamas was “pushing the region to the brink,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told state-run television. He said Jordan would host the summit only when everyone had agreed its purpose would be to “stop the war, respect the humanity of the Palestinians and deliver the aid they deserve.”
Biden will now visit only Israel, a White House official said.
The explosion at the al-Ahli Hospital left gruesome scenes. Video that The Associated Press confirmed was from the hospital showed fire engulfing the building and the hospital grounds strewn with torn bodies, many of them young children. The grass around them was strewn with blankets, school backpacks and other belongings.
The bloodshed unfolded as the U.S. tried 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 in southern Israel last week. Hundreds of thousands of increasingly desperate people were searching for bread and water. powerful explosion shook
Hamas and the Israeli military have conflicting claims regarding the hospital blast on Tuesday. Hamas has described it as a “horrific massacre” and attributed it to an Israeli strike. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has placed the blame on Islamic Jihad, a smaller and more radical Palestinian militant group that frequently collaborates with Hamas. They stated that intelligence from multiple sources pointed to Islamic Jihad’s involvement in firing rockets near the hospital.