Hamas chief denounces Israeli bombing of 3 hospitals in Gaza

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, on Friday denounced Israel’s targeting of three hospitals in the Gaza Strip, namely the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the Al-Quds Medical Complex, and the Indonesian Hospital.

In a statement, Haniyeh denounced the organized targeting of hospitals, the latest of which was today’s targeting of the wounded at the entrance to Al-Shifa Hospital.

The Health Ministry in Gaza announced earlier Friday that 13 Palestinians were killed and 26 others injured in an Israeli bombing that targeted ambulances in front of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

“These massacres are an expression of the predicament that the occupation and its ground forces are going through, as they are receiving successive resistance strikes,” Haniyeh said.

“This brutality, which coincided with the new visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel, is the result of the green light and open cover that the US provides to the occupation, with this level of challenge to all human values and international laws,” he added.

Haniyeh called on Egypt to "fully open the Rafah crossing and to ignore any considerations that prevent this.”

Haniyeh also called on the Arab and Islamic communities to “continue expressing their anger,” and on the international community to “shoulder its humanitarian, moral and political responsibilities by putting an end to war crimes.”

In another statement, Hamas called the bombing of the three hospitals a "massacre."

The Palestinian movement held the United States and Western governments that support Israel “fully responsible.”

The Israeli army has widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the surprise offensive by Hamas on Oct. 7.

More than 10,700 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 9,240 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi