Global outcry as hospital strike kills hundreds in Gaza: As many as 500 people were killed yesterday after Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza, Palestinian health authorities said, prompting global outcry. Al Ahli Arab Hospital was both treating the wounded and serving as a refuge for hundreds of displaced Palestinians. The bombing was one of the deadliest single incidents in the territory in the history of a Hamas-Israel conflict stretching back to the late 2000s.

The exact human cost of the tragedy isn’t yet known: There have been conflicting figures coming out of Gaza, with the territory’s civil defense chief initially putting the death toll at 300 people and a health ministry official saying more than 500 died.

Trading blame: Israel has denied responsibility for the attack, with officials suggesting that the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing them of intentionally killing their own people. The armed group called the accusations “lies” and blamed Israel for the bombing.

Hospitals aren’t targets, but schools are:“A hospital is a highly sensitive building and is not an IDF target,” the IDF said in a statement to the BBC. Earlier in the day, six people were killed when Israel bombed a UN school, the UN’s Palestine refugee agency said.

The Arab and Muslim world isn’t buying what Israel is saying: Leaders across the region blamed Israel for the attack and condemned its actions in harsh terms:

  • President Abdel Fattah El Sisi accused Israel of being responsible in a statement that condemned “in the strongest terms this deliberate bombing.” A Foreign Ministry statement carried a similar message, calling for Israel to immediately stop its policies of collective punishment.
  • The Saudi and Qatari foreign ministries said that Israel has committed a “heinous crime” and a “flagrant violation of international law.”
  • The UAE, one of Israel’s strongest allies in the region, also blamed it for the attack and called for an immediate ceasefire.
  • Iran responded with the most dramatic rhetoric, with President Ebrahim Raisi writing that the flames of the bombs will “engulf the Zionists.”

Jordan cancels summit on Washington’s pro-war stance: Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi said yesterday that Amman had canceled the planned four-way summit between the leaders of Jordan, Egypt, the US and the Palestinian Authority due to Washington’s stance on the war. “We decided not to hold the quadripartite summit in Amman because Washington will not be able to make a decision to stop the war,” Safadi was quoted as saying. Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas had earlier canceled his meeting with Biden.

There has been a slight tonal shift in some Western capitals, where leaders issued statements emphasizing the need to protect civilians and speaking in stronger terms about the gravity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza (though none attributed blame for the attack). French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the British foreign secretary all issued statements condemning the attack, while Biden said he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by the incident. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “horrified” about the attack and called for medical workers to be protected.

Attack provokes immediate protests: Demonstrators took to the streets in the West Bank and several countries in the region last night to denounce the Israeli occupation, and Western countries for supporting its war on Hamas. The US and French embassies were targeted by protesters in Lebanon, while crowds attempted to storm the Israeli embassy in Jordan. Hezbollah has called on the Muslim world to take to the streets in protest against Israel and the US in a “day of rage” today.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER-

Aid remains stuck on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border: Despite growing pressure for the Rafah crossing to be opened to aid, a convoy of trucks remain stationary at the border. Israel has refused to ease off its total siege and has instead bombed the border crossing multiple times, making it harder for aid to enter the strip, according to officials.

Remember: Israel is preventing food, water, fuel and humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. The territory’s only desalination plant shut down on Monday, exacerbating the growing water shortage, and raising the risk of death via dehydration and the spread of waterborne diseases, the UN said.

Foreign passport holders in Gaza still don’t have a way out: Talks to allow foreign passport holders to enter into Egypt are also ongoing, with Israel yet to respond to a proposal from Egypt that would see the UN oversee the evacuation process with support from Egyptian security forces, an official that spoke to the Times of Israel said.

IS A GROUND OFFENSIVE STILL INEVITABLE?

Israel’s next move isn’t clear: “We are preparing for the next stages of war. We haven’t said what they will be. Everybody’s talking about the ground offensive. It might be something different,” an senior Israeli military official told Reuters. The Israeli military has for over a week telegraphed an imminent invasion of the strip and massed thousands of troops on its border. Analysts have warned of the risks of close-quarters urban combat in Gaza as well as provoking a wider conflict with Hezbollah. One Israeli media report claimed that the government was delaying its offensive until after Biden’s visit.

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