By Qais Omar Darwesh Omar and Mustafa M. M. Haboush
GAZA, Palestine (AA) - Palestinians who survived an Israeli strike that killed hundreds in the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in central Gaza said they lived through a "real crematorium."
More than 500 people were killed in the Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on Tuesday, according to Palestinian officials in the besieged enclave. Israel, however, has denied responsibility for the air raid.
Right after the strike, an Anadolu reporter documented scenes from the hospital square, with blood and charred body parts scattered through the area, while people desperately searched the bodies for relatives who were at the site at the time of the attack.
"We were in the hospital square and witnessed incendiary balloons falling from the sky, followed by rockets," Karim Al-Baltaji, 20, told Anadolu.
"I saw a crematorium — people burning, trees burning, falling on citizens," he added.
Al-Baltaji said he was injured in the attack and lost consciousness, and when he woke up, found himself in the hospital. He and his family were forced to flee their home in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza due to the intense Israeli bombardment.
"There's no safe place in Gaza," he said, pointing to ongoing Israeli strikes and shelling.
Azam Hamdan, 71, told Anadolu: "What happened to us was a barbaric act surpassing all massacres, surpassing the Nazis."
Relating the moments before the strike, he said they were sitting in safety when a rocket suddenly struck.
Having himself sustained injuries, Hamdan said his wife had lost consciousness but he could not assist her.
"People were torn apart, and bodies were charred," he said, describing the incident.
Following the attack, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem accused Israel of "committing a massacre as part of a series of massacres it has been committing for years everywhere."
Israel seeks to "kill the Palestinian people, drive them to emigrate, and leave the land," Qassem said, adding that the people hit in the strike had "gone to what they considered a safe place in the hospital."
"But, the occupation violates all customs and laws, killing people in mosques and hospitals, killing civilians in their homes," added the Hamas official.
He also placed blame on the US, which he said was providing Israel with political and military support and cover.
The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began 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.
Gaza is experiencing a dire humanitarian crisis with no electricity, while water, food, fuel, and medical supplies are running out.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to ease the “epic human suffering.”
At least 3,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while the figure stands at more than 1,400 people in Israel.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul