A rocket allegedly exploded in the premises of the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday evening, local time (October 17).
The World Health Organization immediately condemned the alleged attack on the hospital without accusing any party of the attack but called on Israel to reverse its evacuation order north of the Wadi Gaza.
"WHO calls for the immediate active protection of civilians and health care," the global health body said in a statement. "International humanitarian law must be abided by, which means health care must be actively protected and never targeted."
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Hamas Claims At Least 450 Killed in Rocket Attack
Immediately after the explosion, Hamas called the blast a "horrific massacre" caused by an Israeli airstrike.
The Hamas-led Palestinian health ministry also claimed that the alleged airstrike killed at least 500 civilians and injured hundreds more, which multiple media reports rapidly reported.
As of writing, Palestinian health authorities updated the death toll to 471.
If independently confirmed and verified, the death toll in the explosion would be the highest of any single incident in Gaza during the current war. However, reporters were not immediately able to do so.
The incident sparked protests and riots across the Muslim world, as well as prompting the cancellation of a scheduled summit between US President Joe Biden, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Jordanian King Abdullah II.
Israel Claims Rocket Launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad Faulty
However, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) conducted an English-language press briefing shortly before Biden arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday (October 18), Reuters reported.
During the briefing, IDF chief spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari said an investigation "confirmed that there was no IDF fire from the land, sea, or air that hit the hospital." The admiral further claimed that the rocket was fired by another Islamist group called the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which was also operating inside the Gaza Strip.
He added that there was no structural damage to buildings around the hospital and no craters were observed that were consistent with an airstrike.
When asked about why there was an explosion, Hagari explained that it was consistent with unspent rocket fuel catching fire.
"Most of this damage would have been done due to the propellant, not just the warhead," he added.
The Israeli military spokesperson also accused Hamas of allegedly inflating the casualty figure, saying it could not know as quickly as it claimed what had caused the blast.
Hagari added that some 450 rockets from Gaza fell short and landed inside the Strip within the last 11 days, revealing that the IDF obtained "intelligence about communication between terrorists talking about rockets misfiring," which was played and translated during the briefing.
Related Article: Readout of WHO's Statement on the Attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital
