PUNCH
A rocket strike hit a hospital in Gaza late on Tuesday. The strike killed hundreds of Palestinians, according to the Hamas-led Gaza health ministry.
While world leaders have condemned the incident and protests have erupted around the Arab world and Muslim countries, Israel and Palestinian militant groups have traded blame for the strike.
What happened?
At around 1700 GMT on Tuesday, the health ministry in Gaza said an Israeli air strike had hit the Christian-run Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza City. Israel denied it was responsible, pinning the blame on a misfired rocket aimed at Israeli territory fired by the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad from inside Gaza near the hospital.
The Gaza health ministry said at least 471 people had been killed and over 300 wounded, some in critical condition.
The AFP correspondents saw dozens of bodies at the scene. Medics and civilians recovered bodies wrapped in white cloth, blankets or black plastic bags. Bloodstains and torched cars could be seen in the hospital courtyard.
Images of the hospital after the strike published by the Maxar satellite monitoring group show the hospital buildings mainly appeared to be intact.
Maxar said their images reveal “a probable discoloured blast area in the main parking area of the hospital compound” with no “significant structural damage to the adjacent buildings”.
The AFP correspondents saw dozens of bodies at the scene. Medics and civilians recovered bodies wrapped in white cloth, blankets or black plastic bags. Bloodstains and torched cars could be seen in the hospital courtyard.
Images of the hospital after the strike published by the Maxar satellite monitoring group show the hospital buildings mainly appeared to be intact.
Maxar said their images reveal “a probable discoloured blast area in the main parking area of the hospital compound” with no “significant structural damage to the adjacent buildings”.
