On October 17, Israeli forces bombed the Baptist Hospital (Al Ahli Arab Hospital) in central Gaza, massacring over 500 Palestinians, all civilians. Over 600 are injured and may die soon as Israel is refusing to permit aid, including medical supplies, for victims.
The hospital bombing sent shockwaves around the world. The Gaza Ministry of Health held a press conference amidst the bodies of slain Palestinians in the aftermath of the bombing. According to Quds News Network, the Ministry “confirmed that all victims are civilians and that the hospital has been always deemed a safe place for Gazans.”
Doctors from the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza hold a press conference among the bodies of those slaughtered in the Israeli strike.
The most surreal zoom out I have ever seen. pic.twitter.com/faovWQvSDk
— Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) October 17, 2023
People have launched emergency protests across the globe in response to the massacre. Young people shut down a street in Tamra city in Historic Palestine. Demonstrators protested in the city of Nablus, in the West Bank. As protesters took to the streets in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority’s security forces opened fire. In Lebanon, protesters broke into the UN building in Beirut, and in Jordan, protesters are engaging in scuffles with security forces in front of the Israeli embassy in Amman.
Israel has been targeting civilians consistently in its war against Gaza, the Baptist Hospital being only the latest target. Following Israel’s orders for 1.1 million Gazans to evacuate southward in under 24 hours, Israeli forces massacred those civilians trying to evacuate. Israel also bombed a school, run by the UNRWA, in the middle of a refugee camp, killing six and injuring dozens. Yesterday, Israeli forces bombed the Rafah crossing, reportedly in order to prevent humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.
