The Civil Defense in Gaza confirmed that people were killed and injured due to Israeli shelling near the hospital’s laboratory department.
This attack is reminiscent of a tragic incident on October 17, 2023, when over 500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in a devastating Israeli strike on the same hospital, where they had sought refuge from air raids.
In addition to today’s bombing of the Baptist Hospital, Israel conducted several airstrikes across different parts of the Gaza Strip, leading to a significant number of casualties.
Medical sources informed Al Jazeera that since dawn on Saturday, 61 people have been killed in these Israeli raids across various areas of Gaza.
The Palestinian movement Hamas condemned the attack on the hospital, saying in a statement that it is “further evidence of the fascism of this criminal enemy and its continued targeting of hospitals and civilian facilities, amidst the deafening international silence regarding these ongoing crimes.”
“The international community, the United Nations, and its institutions must act to stop these crimes and confront the blatant violations by the zionist extremists’ government against international laws and treaties, which emphasize the protection of civilians and civilian institutions, particularly hospitals,” the statement continued.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,691 Palestinians have been killed, and 94,060 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.