'Existence of Palestinian people at stake,' says UK’s former Labour party leader

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The existence of the Palestinian people is at stake, former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said, following a deadly Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday.

"Israeli air strikes have hit Al Ahli hospital in Gaza. More than 500 people - patients, doctors & those sheltering - have been killed. What unspeakable horror. We will mourn their loss forever. Our leaders could have spoken up for peace," he said on X.

Corbyn further questioned the international community's silence on the issue, saying: "Our leaders could have spoken up for peace. They chose to cheer on war instead. When will they demand an end to these atrocious war crimes? How many Palestinian lives will it take to call for these indiscriminate killings to stop? Please, for the sake of humanity, raise your voice for an immediate ceasefire. The existence of the Palestinian people is at stake.”

In addition to Jeremy Corbyn, Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also condemned the attack.

"What Hamas inflicted on the people of Israel was unconscionable. So is this. The collective punishment of the Gazan people must cease," Sturgeon said on X.

Former shadow Chancellor John McDonnell also said on X: "Do not try and tell me that this is part of any right to defend. Whatever your beliefs, whatever your position in society please appeal to our political leaders, including of my own party, to demand an end to the bombing."

Also, Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz calls the attack a "war crime" and said the international community cannot continue watching this "barbarism against civilians."

More than 500 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told Anadolu.

Footage showed corpses scattered across the hospital grounds.

According to an Anadolu reporter, thousands of Palestinians were at the hospital when the building came under bombardment.

The Israeli army, for its part, said reports of a possible airstrike on the hospital “are still under review.”

Daniel Hagari, an Israeli army spokesman, said he does not have all the information yet, and further details will be provided when possible, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.

The spokesman said that he does not know yet if the blast at the hospital was an Israeli strike.

Palestinian group Hamas called Israel's targeting of the hospital a "genocide."