Arab states have blamed Israel for a blast that killed at least 500 people at a Gaza hospital facility, putting pressure on Tel Aviv over the single-largest civilian death toll since Hamas’ catastrophic attack on Israel on October 7.
Hundreds of Palestinians sought sanctuary in Gaza City’s Al Ahli Arab Hospital and other facilities, hoping to avoid shelling after Israel ordered all residents of the city and nearby regions to flee to the south of Gaza. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, both of which established ties with Israel in the Abraham Accords of 2020, denounced the Israeli attack, which came as Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza.
“The United Arab Emirates strongly condemns the Israeli attack… resulting in the death and injury of hundreds of people,” the UAE’s official WAM news agency reported early Wednesday.
According to the Bahrain News Agency, Bahrain’s foreign ministry “expressed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s condemnation and strong denunciation of the Israeli bombing.”
Morocco, which acknowledged Israel in 2020, blamed it for the strike, as did Egypt, which was the first Arab country to normalize relations with Israel in 1979.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi strongly criticized “the Israeli bombing” of the Ahli Arab Hospital, which resulted in “the deaths of hundreds of innocent victims” among Gaza’s Palestinian citizens.
The “deliberate bombing” was a “clear violation of international law,” he said. Saudi Arabia, which has halted talks on prospective links with Israel since the war erupted, condemned the explosion as a “heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces.”
Jordan blamed Israel for the “grave incident,” while Qatar, which has close links to Hamas, condemned the “brutal massacre.”
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference, which also blamed Israel, described it as a “war crime, a crime against humanity, and organised state terrorism.”
According to Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, it is “clear evidence of serious violations by Israeli occupation forces.”
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