Gaza Strip Catastrophe... At Least 500 Dead in Israel's Sudden Attack

Surprise Attack Just Hours Before Biden's Visit

On the 17th (local time), the Israeli military bombed medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 500 Palestinians. This airstrike occurred just hours before U.S. President Joe Biden was scheduled to visit Israel, which is at war with the Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported that at least 500 people were killed when the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City was struck by an Israeli airstrike that afternoon. Hundreds remain trapped under the rubble of the collapsed building, so the death toll is expected to rise.

Palestinians are searching for casualties in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, which was reduced to rubble by an Israeli airstrike on the 17th (local time).
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The Palestinian Authority condemned the airstrike as a "hospital massacre." The Palestinian Authority stated, "The massacre at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital is unprecedented in history," adding, "We have witnessed many tragedies in past wars, but this is different. What happened tonight amounts to genocide." Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, declared a three-day mourning period.

The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned Israel's airstrike as a violation of international humanitarian law. In a statement, WHO strongly condemned the attack on the hospital, emphasizing that the facility housed patients, medical staff, caregivers, and displaced persons. WHO noted that Al-Ahli Hospital was one of 20 hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip where the Israeli military had issued evacuation orders, and pointed out that due to the critical condition of inpatients and limitations in ambulances, personnel, and bed capacity, complying with the evacuation order was impossible.

On the 17th (local time), the tenth day of clashes between the Palestinian armed faction Hamas and Israel, rescue workers in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, are clearing debris from a house collapsed by an Israeli airstrike to rescue residents.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

After the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for more than 20 hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, WHO warned that this would cause a massive humanitarian disaster. WHO urged the Israeli military to cancel the evacuation orders and to immediately and actively protect civilians and medical facilities. It further stressed that international humanitarian law must be respected, meaning that medical services must be protected and must never be targeted by airstrikes.

WSJ noted that this Israeli attack occurred just hours before President Biden's visit to Israel and Jordan. President Biden departed the United States on a private plane in the afternoon (Eastern Time) and is scheduled to arrive in Israel on the 18th, where he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is leading the response to Hamas.

President Biden is expected to discuss with Prime Minister Netanyahu the entry of Israeli ground forces, the possibility of escalation due to Iranian involvement, and plans for supplying water, food, and energy to refugees. WSJ reported that during this visit, President Biden is likely to express unconditional solidarity with Israel, which is retaliating against Hamas's surprise attack that caused over 1,200 civilian casualties, while emphasizing that Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip should not constitute excessive retaliation causing numerous civilian casualties.

On the 17th (local time), the tenth day since the outbreak of armed conflict between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel, a woman is sitting on the ground crying in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli airstrike.
[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

It remains to be seen whether this Israeli raid on hospital facilities will become a new variable affecting President Biden's support for Israel and the future course of events. Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, who was scheduled to meet President Biden in Amman, announced that he would not meet with Biden following the Israeli airstrike. Meanwhile, the prolonged full blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by Israel is worsening the humanitarian crisis for local residents.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced that it attacked 200 targets in the Gaza Strip that morning. According to Palestinian authorities, at least 80 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on central and southern Gaza that day. According to Gaza health authorities, since the outbreak of the war on the 7th, over 3,000 Palestinians have died, with more than 4,000 deaths reported on both sides. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) expressed concern, stating, "There is no longer a safe place in the Gaza Strip, and even UN refugee agency facilities are not safe."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.