Not IDF, but barbaric terrorists in Gaza attacked hospital that killed 500: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian terrorists for the deadly blast in a Gaza city hospital in which at least 500 people were killed.

Netanyahu said the it was not the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), but the “barbaric terrorists in Gaza” who attacked the al-Ahli hospital.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Israeli Prime Minister said: “The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF.”

“Those who cruelly murdered our children, murder their children as well,” said Netanyahu.

A massive blast rocket a hospital in Gaza city on Tuesday which was packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter. Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike for the blast, while the Israeli military blamed a rocket misfired by other Palestinian terrorists.

The IDF also posted a video on X where it showed a rocket aimed towards Israel was misfired and landed in Gaza.

“This isn’t the first time. While thousands of rockets are fired towards Israel rockets fail. These failed rockets launches cause mass destruction and the death of countless innocent individuals inside Gaza,” an audio played alongwith about a minute-long video posted by IDF said.

This is the tragic result of firing rockets from densely populated neighborhoods. pic.twitter.com/7iAxwLUQzV

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 18, 2023

Videos of the explosion at the al-Ahli Hospital showed fire engulfing the building and the hospital grounds strewn with torn bodies, many of them young children. The grass around them was strewn with blankets, school backpacks and other belongings.

The bloodshed unfolded as the US tried to convince Israel to allow the delivery of supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals in the tiny Gaza Strip, which has been under a complete siege since Hamas’ deadly rampage in southern Israel last week. Hundreds of thousands of increasingly desperate people were searching for bread and water.

Jordan cancels regional summit

Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said his country has cancelled a regional summit scheduled for Wednesday in Amman, where US President Joe Biden was to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

The war between Israel and Hamas was “pushing the region to the brink,” Safadi told state-run television.

He said Jordan would host the summit only when everyone had agreed its purpose would be to “stop the war, respect the humanity of the Palestinians and deliver the aid they deserve.”

With inputs from agencies