Greece 'appalled' by 'painful loss of life' in attack on Gaza hospital

Greek premier’s planned visit to Israel also canceled over security concerns in wake of attack, which killed some 500 people

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Greece said it was “appalled” by Tuesday night’s airstrike on a hospital in the northern Gaza, which took the lives of hundreds of people.

A Greek Foreign Ministry statement on Wednesday said it is “is appalled by the events that have led to the deeply painful loss of life” at the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist hospital in Gaza.

Stressing the need to protect noncombatants from harm, it added: “Greece from the first moment emphasized the need to protect civilians and safeguard humanitarian values and insists on this position.”

The deadly airstrike also led the prime minister to scuttle a planned visit to Israel in light of security concerns, the state-run AMNA news agency reported.

“The new security situation in Israel has reportedly led to a revision of previous planning,” it said.

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 on social media showed corpses scattered across the hospital grounds.

Thousands of Palestinians, including women and children, were at the hospital when the building came under bombardment, according to an Anadolu reporter.

Twelve days into the conflict with resistance group Hamas, Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip continued, with over 1 million people displaced — almost half of Gaza's total population, according to the UN agency for Palestine refugees or UNRWA.

The fighting began on Oct. 7 when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

To date, more than 4,400 people have been killed in the armed conflict, including at least 3,061 Palestinians and more than 1,400 Israelis.

Kaynak: