In Images | Death and doom at Gaza hospital, where 500 were killed in blast

Amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, hospitals became a safe haven for locals, trying to survive the heavy bombardment. Until Tuesday night. On Tuesday night, the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza, was reduced to rubble after a blast took place, killing at least 500 people – women, children, aged and sick. If confirmed, the death toll would be among the highest for a single airstrike since 2008. The health ministry in the Hamas-ruled region has blamed Israel for the deadly attack; a claim that Israel denies, saying that a rocket misfired by Islamic Jihad Palestinian militants caused the strike. The attack has been severely condemned; UN human rights chief Volker Turk said, “Words fail me. Tonight, hundreds of people were killed – horrifically – in a massive strike at Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City, including patients, healthcare workers and families that had been seeking refuge in and around the hospital. Once again the most vulnerable.” Jordan’s King Abdullah II, meanwhile, called the attack a “massacre” and a “shame on humanity”. [caption id=“attachment_13263092” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Wounded Palestinians sit in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, after arriving from al-Ahli hospital following an explosion there. The hospital was housing hundreds of sick and wounded before it became a victim of an airstrike. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13263112” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Until Tuesday night, hospitals in the Gaza region had become safe havens because they had been relatively spared from the Israeli bombing raids. However, according to the WHO 111 medical buildings have been hit, 12 medical workers have been killed and 60 ambulances targeted. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13263202” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Wounded Palestinians arrive at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, after arriving from al-Ahli hospital following an explosion there. The health ministry in Gaza has blamed Israel for the airstrike on the hospital, with Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) political party, telling Al Jazeera that the attack should prompt world leaders to question their support for Israel. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13263142” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A wounded Palestinian girl is carried into the emergency room of another hospital following the airstrike. “We were performing surgery at the hospital when a strong explosion occurred and the ceiling fell on the operating room… This is a massacre,” Ghassan Abu Sitta, a doctor associated with Doctors Without Borders, was quoted as saying. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13263152” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The bombing of the hospital drew strong condemnation in many capitals and calls for providing international protection for the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13263162” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk said that the blast on the hospital was “unacceptable”. Hospitals are sacrosanct and the killings and violence must stop, Turk said. He added those responsible for the hospital blast must be held accountable. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13263182” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A Palestinian medic, center, and others cry after learning about the death of a relative at the al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip. Over 2,000 people have already died in the Gaza Strip since attacks began on 8 October. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13263192” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, three countries that forged formal ties with Israel, have condemned the bombing of the hospital and blamed Israel for the attack, effectively dismissing Israeli claims that the facility was hit by an errant Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket. AP[/caption]