Tel Aviv

Nearly 500 Palestinians were reported dead in an explosion at a hospital in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, making it the deadliest mass casualty event so far during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7 after the latter launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli civilians.

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The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry claimed that Israeli warplanes bombed the Ahli Baptist hospital in northern Gaza. World Health Organization, while reacting to the mass casualty event at the hospital, later said that the hospital was operational with patients, health and caregivers, and internally displaced people sheltering there. 

"The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military," WHO statement added. 

Gaza Ahli Baptist hospital explosion: Israel's response

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The Israel Defense Forces claimed that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group was responsible for the "failed rocket launch" that struck Gaza's Ahli Baptist hospital.

The IDF said a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel passed near the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza when it was hit.

Also read | Israel-Hamas war: Hundreds killed after deadly explosion at Gaza hospital, Israel denies role

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"An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit," IDF posted on its official Telegram account.

"Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza," it added.

Later, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the "barbaric terrorists in Gaza" for "attacking" the Ahli Baptist Hospital. 

"So that the whole world knows: the barbaric terrorists in Gaza are the ones who attacked the hospital in Gaza, not the IDF,” Netanyahu said in a statement. 

"Whoever brutally murdered our children is also murdering their children," he added. 

An Israel-affiliated account on X shared the footage of an explosion seen from inside the Israeli side of the fence, which it said showed the blast at Gaza's Ahli Baptist hospital that killed hundreds.

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Another video shared by Israel-affiliated official social media accounts showed a TV broadcast of the purported launch of a rocket in Gaza, which they said hit the said hospital.

Later, Israel Defense Forces released the raw footage of a rocket aimed at Israel that reportedly misfired and exploded at 18:59 (local time) -- "the same moment a hospital was hit in Gaza."

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(Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.)

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