Zionists’ Massacre of Patients, Medical Staff in Gaza Hospital Draws Global Condemnation
At least 500 people have been killed in an Israeli air raid on al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, according to Palestinian authorities in the besieged territory.
The actual death toll could be far higher since, according to the territory’s health ministry, “hundreds of victims are still under the rubble.”
World leaders, governments, organizations and rights groups have strongly condemned the attack.
Iran
Iran’s foreign ministry has denounced the air raid as an attack on “unarmed and defenseless people”, Iranian state media reported.
Hamas
The Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas' Politburo Chief, Ismail Haniyeh said, “The hospital massacre confirms the enemy's brutality and the extent of its feeling of defeat.”
Hezbollah
The Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah called for a “day of rage” to condemn the strike, describing the Israeli strikes as a “massacre” and “brutal crime."”
Syria
The Office of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denounced the atrocity as “one of the most heinous and bloodiest massacres against humanity in the modern era.” “The Syrian Arab Republic holds Western countries, especially the United States of America, responsible for this massacre and other massacres, as it is a partner of the Zionist entity in all organized killing operations against the Palestinian people,” it added.
Palestinian Authority
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the air raid as an act of “genocide” and a “humanitarian catastrophe”.
Abbas has also withdrawn from a previously scheduled meeting with US President Joe Biden, who is set to arrive in the region on Wednesday.
Jordan
In a statement on Tuesday, the Jordanian foreign ministry strongly condemned Israel’s attack and emphasized the need for international protection for Palestinian civilians and an end to the fighting.
King Abdullah II said Israel’s bombing of Gaza hospital was a “massacre” and a “war crime” that one cannot be silent about.
Egypt
The Egyptian government has issued a statement denouncing the attack “in the strongest terms”, calling on the international community to step in and prevent further violations.
Qatar
Qatar’s foreign ministry said the attack marked a dangerous escalation.
“The expansion of Israeli attacks over the Gaza Strip to include hospitals, schools, and other population centers is a dangerous escalation,” the statement reads.
World Health Organization (WHO)
“WHO strongly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital”, the UN health agency’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the social media platform X, adding that early reports indicate “hundreds of deaths and injuries”.
“We call for the immediate protection of civilians and health care, and for the evacuation orders to be reversed.”
The Arab League
Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that international leaders must “stop this tragedy immediately” in response to the attack.
“What diabolical mind intentionally bombards a hospital and its defenseless inhabitants?” he wrote in a social media post, saying that “Arab mechanisms will document these war crimes and the criminals will not get away with their actions.”
Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denounced the attack in a statement on social media.
“Hitting a hospital containing women, children and innocent civilians is the latest example of Israel’s attacks devoid of the most basic human values,” he said.
“I invite all humanity to take action to stop this unprecedented brutality in Gaza.”
Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attack and stressed the importance of adhering to the laws of war.
“The news coming out of Gaza is horrific and absolutely unacceptable … international law needs to be respected in this and in all cases. There are rules around wars and it’s not acceptable to hit a hospital,” Trudeau told reporters.
African Union
Moussa Faki Mahamat, the African Union’s chief, called the strike a "war crime."
“There are no words to fully express our condemnation of Israel's bombing of a #Gaza hospital today, killing hundreds of people,” Faki said on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling on the international community to act.
UN Human Rights Chief
The deadly strikes are “totally unacceptable,” Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, said, insisting that the perpetrators must be held to account.
“Words fail me. Tonight, hundreds of people were killed -- horrifically -- in a massive strike at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, including patients, healthcare workers and families that had been seeking refuge in and around the hospital. Once again the most vulnerable. This is totally unacceptable,” Turk said in a statement.
UAE
The United Arab Emirates strongly condemned “the Israeli attack that targeted al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip resulting in the death and injury of hundreds of people,” the official state news agency WAM reported early on Wednesday.
Source: Agencies
