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Israeli military says Palestinian rocket struck Gaza hospital where hundreds were reported killed
(JTA) — Israel has concluded that an explosion at a Gaza City hospital that reportedly killed hundreds of people was the result of an errant rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terror group in Gaza.
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority both blamed Israel for the blast at al-Ahli hospital, which the Palestinian Red Crescent Society emergency services group said had caused the deaths of hundreds among the thousands sheltering in the building.
A planned summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and several Middle East leaders was canceled and riots broke out in the West Bank and Jordan after the explosion.
Rockets fired from Gaza often fall short, landing inside the Palestinian territory. Security footage from the Israeli side and video posted by Al Jazeera both appeared to show a failed rocket causing an explosion in Gaza as a volley streaked through the night sky toward Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had reviewed multiple sources of information, including its intelligence systems, before determining the source of the rocket.
“It is clear that the IDF did not strike the hospital in Gaza,” it said in a statement that also said 450 rockets had fallen within Gaza since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. “The hospital was hit as a result of a failed rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.”
Surveillance camera footage from Netiv Haasara shows a large barrage of rockets being launched from northern Gaza, followed by a massive blast in the Strip, apparently caused by a failed projectile. pic.twitter.com/PdNCbks02r
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 17, 2023
An Al Jazeera broadcast documented the moment that the Islamic Jihad launched a rocket which misfired and hit a hospital in Gaza, killing hundreds. pic.twitter.com/ypZTdJobzk
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) October 17, 2023
The deadly blast further drove up tensions in the war, as Israeli troops appeared to prepare for a possible ground invasion of Gaza, international condemnation of Israel piled up and fears spiked of a wider conflagration in the Middle East.
The explosion swiftly drew condemnations and, in some places, protests against Israel. Dozens of rioters targeted the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan. Riots also broke out in Palestinian areas of the West Bank, Hebrew media reported.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of national mourning for the victims, the Palestinian Wafa news agency said. Abbas also canceled a planned meeting with Biden, multiple reports said, citing Palestinian officials. And the Jordanian foreign minister reportedly announced that a summit including Biden, Abbas, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah has been called off.
The European Union, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Arab League, Jordan, and the head of Amnesty International all decried the blast.
The World Health Organization said it “strongly condemns the attack,” without directly blaming Israel.
Israel has long maintained that it does not target civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, and an IDF spokesperson told Fox News on Tuesday that hospitals are “not an IDF target.” It has also charged that Hamas, which controls Gaza, operates its military operations out of civilian buildings including hospitals.
“The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement posted to X. “Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children.”
Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,400 Israelis, capturing about 200, and sparking the war between Israel and Gaza terror groups. Over 2,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its counter-offensive, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
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The post Israeli military says Palestinian rocket struck Gaza hospital where hundreds were reported killed appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Netanyahu Criticizes Nation-Wide Strike That ‘Strengthens Hamas’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday harshly criticized nationwide demonstrations calling for the release of hostages and an end to the Gaza war.
Speaking at a government meeting, Netanyahu argued that such protests only strengthen Hamas and risk repeating the atrocities of October 7.
“Those who call today for an end to Hamas’s war not only harden the terrorist group’s position and delay the release of our hostages, but also guarantee that the horrors of October 7 will be repeated and that we will have to fight an endless war,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister defended Israel’s ongoing military operations, citing strikes carried out in recent days: “In the last 24 hours, the navy attacked power stations in Yemen, IDF soldiers struck Zeitoun and eliminated dozens of terrorists in Gaza, and the air force targeted Hezbollah commanders and launch sites in Lebanon.”
He added that Israel’s response in Lebanon was consistent with the ceasefire agreement: “According to this agreement, we will meet with fire any violation and any attempt to arm Hezbollah.”
Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s conditions for ending the conflict, stressing the need for continued security control in Gaza and the group’s long-term demilitarization. He rejected Hamas’s demand for a full Israeli withdrawal: “They want us to leave Gaza entirely — from the north, the south, the Philadelphi corridor, and the security perimeter. That would only allow them to reorganize, rearm, and attack us again.”
The war has now entered its 681st day, with 49 hostages still held by Hamas.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Israelis joined a general strike organized by the Hostage Families Forum, calling for the return of all captives in a single deal and for an end to the war. Demonstrations spread across the country, at major intersections, government ministers’ homes, and familiar protest hubs such as Kaplan Junction and the Ayalon highways.
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Family Releases Footage of Matan Zangauker in Captivity
A screenshot of a video released by the family of hostage Matan Zangauker.
i24 News – The family of Matan Zangauker, the Israeli hostage held by Hamas since October 7, shared new footage of him from captivity on Sunday evening.
The video, obtained by the IDF, was recorded several months ago.
In the recording, 32-year-old Matan looks directly into the camera, addressing his loved ones: “Tato, Shani, Ilana, I miss you. God willing, we’ll see each other soon. All my friends and acquaintances, go out and make noise like only you know how.”
Matan was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his partner Ilana Gritsievsky, who was released in a hostage deal last year. Since then, Matan has remained in Hamas custody while his family continues to fight for his return.
On the national protest day calling for the release of hostages, Ilana staged a poignant display at Hostages Square. Dressed in a wedding gown beneath a chuppah, she symbolically “married” Matan in his absence. “Matan, my curly-haired one, if you hadn’t been abducted, we could already be married. In a single day, our world was destroyed, and you’re not here to hold me. I’m fighting for you until you come back,” she said.
Matan’s mother, Einav, has emerged as a leading voice in the campaign for the hostages’ release and has sharply criticized Israel’s political leadership, accusing them of undermining potential hostage deals.
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Hamas Rejects Israel’s Gaza Relocation Plan
Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter in a tent camp as the Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza, in Gaza City August 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s plan to relocate residents from Gaza City constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area.
The group said the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment by Israel into southern Gaza was a “blatant deception.”
The Israeli military has said it is preparing to provide tents and other equipment starting from Sunday ahead of its plan to relocate residents from combat zones to the south of the enclave “to ensure their safety.”
Hamas said in a statement that the deployment of tents under the guise of humanitarian purposes is a blatant deception intended to “cover up a brutal crime that the occupation forces prepare to execute.”
Israel said earlier this month that it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban center. The plan has raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, which is home to about 2.2 million people.