Gaza hospital explosion raises concerns; Israel denies airstrike.
A significant number of civilian casualties occurred as a result of a devastating explosion at a hospital in Gaza City, with Hamas attributing responsibility to an Israeli airstrike.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City was densely populated with injured Palestinians and individuals seeking refuge at the time of the strike on Tuesday.
The casualty count is still unconfirmed, but it could be over 500, potentially making it the deadliest incident since Israel started bombing Gaza in response to Hamas' offensive on October 7th.
The Israeli Defence Force categorically refutes any allegations of responsibility, as stated by an official spokesperson on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.
The spokesperson attributed the incident to a misfiring rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a lesser-known militant organization operating within the Gaza Strip.
Israeli PM Netanyahu emphasized that the attack on the Gaza hospital was carried out by Gaza terrorists, not the IDF.
He also pointed out that those responsible for killing innocent children are accountable for their own children's deaths.
Daoud Shehab, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), refuted the assertion made by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in a statement provided to the news agency Reuters.
"The statement is false, a fabrication, and entirely inaccurate," he declared, accusing the occupying force of concealing their abhorrent crime and massacre of innocent civilians.
Hamas calls hospital explosion a "horrific massacre", stating majority of victims were displaced families, patients, children, and women.