October 18, 2023

*) Israeli strike kills hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza An Israeli air strike on Gaza’s Al Ahli Arab Hospital compound killed at least 500 people, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza has said, with many still under the rubble. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning following the deadly attack. Israel’s military has denied its forces bombed the hospital. Around 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza since the war erupted on October 7. *) World reacts to Israel's strike on Gaza Israel’s hospital bombing in Gaza triggered condemnation and fury in the Middle East and beyond. "Israel has crossed all red lines. ... We will not leave nor allow anyone to expel us from there," Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "Hitting a hospital containing women, children and innocent civilians is the latest example of Israel's attacks devoid of the most basic human values." United Nations Human rights chief Volker Turk shared a statement over the bombing: "Words fail me. Tonight, hundreds of people were killed — horrifically — in a massive strike at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, including patients, healthcare workers and families that had been seeking refuge in and around the hospital. Once again the most vulnerable. This is totally unacceptable." The World Health Organization also condemned the deadly strike in a statement, said: "The hospital was operational, with patients, health- and care-givers, and internally-displaced people sheltering there.Early reports indicate hundreds of fatalities and injuries. *) Jordan cancels summit with Biden after Israel bombs Gaza hospital Jordan has cancelled a planned summit with US President Joe Biden and leaders of Egypt and Palestine, saying "there is no use in talking now about anything except stopping the war." The decision came after Israel’s deadly hospital bombardment. The summit will be held "when the decision to stop the war and put an end to these massacres