Egypt condemned “in the strongest terms” the Israeli air strike on the Baptist Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, which has left at least 500 dead, according to a statement by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday. Egypt’s President, Abdul-Fattah el-Sissi, condemned what he called Israel’s “deliberate bombing” of Ahli Arab hospital and “a clear violation of international law … and humanity.”
The Associated Press has the story:
Egypt condemns Israel’s ‘deliberate bombing’ of Gaza Hospital
Newslooks- (AP)
Expressions of condemnation and grief are pouring in after hundreds of people were killed in an explosion at a Gaza City hospital that Hamas attributed to an Israeli airstrike.
Egypt’s President, Abdul-Fattah el-Sissi, condemned what he called Israel’s “deliberate bombing” of Ahli Arab hospital and “a clear violation of international law … and humanity.”
Egypt characterized the deliberate shelling of civilian facilities and targets as a grave violation of international law, humanitarian principles, and most basic human values.
Earlier today, Israel hit the hospital, killing at least 500 people. Hundreds are feared dead or injured, according to Palestinian officials.
Cairo called on Tel Aviv to immediately cease its policies of collective punishment against the residents of the Gaza Strip.
It also urged “the international community, especially major influential nations, to promptly intervene to halt these violations and unequivocally condemn them,” added the statement.
Egypt also called on Israel to refrain from targeting the surrounding areas of the Rafah border crossing to enable Egypt and other countries, international organizations, and humanitarian groups to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip as quickly as possible.
Countries such as Syria and Saudi Arabia blamed Israel for the blast, with Libya’s Foreign Ministry accusing Israel of “war crimes and genocide” in the Gaza Strip. Iraq declared three days of mourning, and hundreds of protesters gathered in central Baghdad.
In Lebanon, groups of protesters roamed the city on motorcycles and gathered outside the French embassy and the headquarters of the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
Richard Peeperkorn, World Health Organization representative for the West Bank and Gaza, expressed “our deepest grief at the horror that has unfolded,” calling it “unprecedented even in a region that has seen consistent attacks on healthcare.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that it was “shocked and horrified by reports that Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza was destroyed.”
The United Arab Emirates and Russia called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.
