BI News, India: Prime Minister Modi has expressed deep grief over the tragic loss of lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. PM Modi extended heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.
In a X post, the Prime Minister said;
“Deeply shocked at the tragic loss of lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and prayers for speedy recovery of those injured.
Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. Those involved should be held responsible.”
Deeply shocked at the tragic loss of lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and prayers for speedy recovery of those injured.
Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern.…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 18, 2023
The incident was initially reported by Gaza’s health ministry, claiming that an Israeli airstrike resulted in hundreds of casualties at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital. However, Israel refuted this claim, suggesting that the explosion was the result of a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which denied any involvement.
The true extent of the casualties remains uncertain. Gaza health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra indicated that hundreds of people lost their lives, with rescue operations ongoing. Discrepancies in death tolls have been reported, with a Gaza civil defense chief initially mentioning 300 casualties, while health ministry sources suggested a toll of 500.
Regardless of the details, the incident has further fueled the ongoing crisis in the region, which was initially sparked by an October 7 cross-border attack by Hamas into southern Israel. This attack caught Israel off guard and resulted in a significant loss of life.
