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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has strongly condemned the attack on the Gaza hospital, which was operational with patients, health and caregivers, and internally displaced people sheltering there.

The WHO said the hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military.

“The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced,” the global health agency said.

The WHO called for the immediate active protection of civilians and health care. “Evacuation orders must be reversed. International humanitarian law must be abided by, which means health care must be actively protected and never targeted,” it said. (AP)

The United Nations, its top leaders and agencies have expressed horror and strong condemnation over the killing of hundreds of civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza, underscoring that attack on hospitals or civilian infrastructure is against international humanitarian law and called for holding those responsible to account.

“I am horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza today, which I strongly condemn. My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on X.

In another post on X, Guterres said too many lives and the fate of the entire region hang in the balance as he called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Middle East to ease epic human suffering.

A statement issued by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Guterres condemned the “strike this evening on Al-Ahli Anglican Episcopal Hospital in Gaza, with preliminary reports of hundreds killed and many others wounded, including women and children”.

He emphasised that hospitals, clinics, medical personnel, and UN premises are explicitly protected under international law, the statement said.

The Secretary-General also condemned the attack on a UNRWA school on Tuesday in Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza which killed at least six people, the statement said.The Secretary-General extended his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a swift recovery to those injured.

President of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly Dennis Francis said he is “shocked and horrified” by the attack on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.

“Any attack on hospitals, schools or civilian infrastructure, targeting civilians and taking them hostage, is against international humanitarian law and goes against our common humanity,” Francis said.

“Collective efforts to de-escalate and to facilitate humanitarian access are urgently needed to avoid more bloodshed and civilian casualties.” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement that hospitals are sacrosanct and must be protected at all costs.

“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,” he said.

The top UN Human rights official said that while the full scale of the carnage is yet not known, “what is clear is that the violence and killings must stop at once".

“All states with influence must do everything in their power to bring an end to this horrendous situation. Civilians must be protected, and humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need as a matter of urgency. Those found responsible must be held to account,” Turk said.

The State Department has raised the travel advisory for Lebanon, urging people not to travel to the country “due to the unpredictable security situation related to rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hizballah or other armed militant factions.”

The advisory issued on Tuesday also urged people to reconsider travel to Lebanon “due to terrorism, civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, kidnapping” and the US Embassy in Beirut's limited capacity to provide support to US citizens.

The State Department authorised the voluntary, temporary departure of family members of US government personnel and some non-emergency personnel from the US Embassy in Beirut due to the unpredictable security situation in Lebanon.

The advisory was hiked to Level 4, “Do not travel” — the highest level — from Level 3, “Reconsider travel.” (AP)

A Treasury official said the US is renewing plans to pursue Hamas funding streams and called on allies and the private sector to do the same or “be prepared to suffer the consequences.”

“We cannot, and we will not, tolerate money flowing through the international system for Hamas' terrorist activity,” said Brian Nelson, under secretary for terrorism and illicit finance, at an anti-money laundering conference.

“Treasury will bring our tools to bear against Hamas' financing and the overall funding of terrorism,” he said. (AP)

Leaders of Western intelligence services said they are attuned to the potential fallout in their home countries of the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israel.

Representatives from intelligence agencies from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia — a coalition known as the “Five Eyes” — convened in California to discuss Chinese economic espionage. But the meeting unfolded against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said his agency is working with local law enforcement to address threats of violence against both the Jewish and Muslim communities. It is also working through its legal attache office in Tel Aviv, Israel, to locate and identify Americans who remain unaccounted for after the October 7 attacks.

David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said events like the Hamas attack lead to “soul searching” about “what we know, what we knew, what we can do in our own countries” to protect against similar violence. (AP)

The 22 Arab countries at the United Nations joined in demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza following the devastating explosion and fire at a Gaza City hospital.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said Arab Group members are “outraged by this massacre” and also united in demanding the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid and preventing “forcible displacement” of Palestinians.

Mansour said that after the “massacre,” the highest objective is a cease-fire because “saving lives is the most important thing.” Also Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “horrified” at the deaths and “hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law.”

The Security Council scheduled a Wednesday vote on a draft resolution that currently condemns “the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas” against Israel and all violence against civilians. It also calls for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver desperately needed aid to millions in Gaza. (AP)

US President Joe Biden said he is “outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted.” Biden said he spoke “immediately” after hearing the news with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and “directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened.”

“The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy,” Biden said in a statement issued after he departed for the Middle East. (AP)

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group denied Israel's claim that it was behind the deadly blast at Al-Ahli hospital. It accused Israel of “trying hard to evade responsibility for the brutal massacre it committed.”

“The accusations promoted by the enemy are baseless,” Islamic Jihad said, adding that the group “does not use places of worship or public facilities, especially hospitals, as military centres or weapons stores.”

The group said details such as “the angle of the bomb's fall and the extent of destruction it left behind” confirm it was similar to Israeli strikes.

Jordan has called off a four-way summit scheduled for Wednesday with US President Joe Biden and other leaders, the country's foreign minister told state-run television.

Ayman Safadi told al-Mamlaka TV that the war between Israel and Hammas was “pushing the region to the brink” and the summit would be postponed.

After visiting Israel Wednesday, Biden had planned to travel to Amman for the meeting.

The White House said Biden had hoped to use the summit to discuss the bloody October 7 Hamas militant attack on Israel with the United States' Arab allies and the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank. (AP)

Expressions of condemnation and grief are pouring in after hundreds of people were killed in an explosion at a Gaza City hospital that Hamas attributed to an Israeli airstrike but the Israeli military said was caused by a misfired militant rocket.

Countries such as Syria and Saudi Arabia blamed Israel for the blast, with Libya's Foreign Ministry accusing Israel of “war crimes and genocide” in the Gaza Strip. Iraq declared three days of mourning, and there were protests there and in Lebanon.

Egypt's President, Abdul-Fattah el-Sissi, condemned what he called Israel's “deliberate bombing” of Ahli Arab hospital and “a clear violation of international law ... and humanity.” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his country condemns “the attack on the Al-Ahli Arabi hospital” and there's no justification for targeting a hospital or civilians.

Richard Peeperkorn, World Health Organization representative for the West Bank and Gaza, expressed “our deepest grief at the horror that has unfolded,” calling it “unprecedented even in a region that has seen consistent attacks on healthcare.” The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that it was “shocked and horrified by reports that Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza was destroyed.” The United Arab Emirates and Russia called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday. (AP)