An air strike has hit the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City where thousands were seeking safety and treatment.
Hamas has blamed an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military said the hospital was hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants. The health ministry said at least 500 people had been killed.
Hundreds of Palestinians had taken refuge in al-Ahli, other hospitals, and United Nations buildings in Gaza City, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.
The attack came as U.S. President Joe Biden left for the region to show support for Israel and try to prevent the war from spreading. In protest over the purported airstrike, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas canceled his participation in a meeting with Biden, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and Egypt’s president set for Wednesday in Amman, Jordan.
The attack spurred protests in Ramallah in the Occupied West Bank and condemnation. Egypt’s foreign minister said that Cairo considers this “deliberate bombing of civilians to be a serious violation of international, humanitarian law and of the most basic values of humanity.”
We discuss the latest humanitarian situation in Gaza and ask whether the rules of war were breached.
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