Hundreds feared dead after strike on Gaza hospital
Hamas and Israel traded blame over an air strike at a Gaza City hospital on Tuesday night that health authorities said killed at least 300 people.
Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes as terrified residents fled the hospital, with a huge fire burning in the compound. Hundreds of people were feared trapped under the rubble.
The Gaza authorities immediately said Israel was responsible for the attack, but in a statement the Israeli army said intelligence analysis had determined conclusively that the blast had been caused by an Islamic Jihad projectile aimed at Israel that fell short, hitting the Al-Ahli Baptist hospital. Islamic Jihad denied the Israeli claim.
Israel Hamas conflict
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Sir, – President Michael D Higgins’s comments that Ursula von der Leyen’s approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict was “thoughtless and reckless” is spot on, if lacking perhaps some diplomacy in its robust delivery (News, October 17th).
But the reality is Ms von der Leyen was only endorsing what US president Joe Biden said: that Israel has a right to defend itself and a duty to respond. This new construct “duty to respond” is at the core of the difficulty facing western powers, but that response should never put a defenceless civilian population in grave danger, as has happened since the barbaric attack on Israel by Hamas.
There has to be a better way to root out Hamas without inflicting death and destruction on innocent Palestinian people. There is also a paramount duty to respond to their humanitarian needs now. – Yours, etc,
AIDAN RODDY, Cabinteely, Dublin 18.
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