Gaza hospital: Who said what - the key quotes

A massive blast at a Gaza hospital it is feared killed hundreds of Palestinians was caused by militants and not by Israel, US president Joe Biden has said.

Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli air strike for the huge blast and fireball which engulfed the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital on Tuesday night, and said it killed as many as 500 people.

Israel said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which has denied blame.

The incident sparked an escalation of protests in the region with friends and foes of Israel responding to the incident.

Here, Yahoo News UK breaks down what was said following the blast.

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• Protesters across Middle East clash with police in backlash after Gaza hospital blast(Sky News)

• What we know about the deadly blast at a Gaza City hospital (Associated Press)

• UK will work to ‘find out what happened’ after Gaza hospital blast (Press Association)

What Hamas says

Hamas said in a statement shortly after the blast on its website: “The international community and the Arab and Islamic countries must shoulder their responsibilities and intervene immediately, now and not tomorrow, to stop the arrogance of the occupation and its fascist army, and hold it accountable for the genocide it has been committing for eleven days.”

In a televised address on Tuesday night, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said, “The hospital massacre confirms the enemy’s brutality and the extent of his feeling of defeat,” adding that the explosion will mark “a new turning point.”

Haniyeh also said “the US holds the responsibility of the hospital attack because of the cover it gives to the Israeli aggression.”

He then called on all Palestinians “to get out and confront the occupation and the settlers,” and urged Arabs and Muslims worldwide to protest against Israel.

What Israel says

Israel hit back against the claim they were responsible for the explosion and say they have intelligence that shows Islamic Jihad was responsible.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said: "An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit.

"Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza."

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the blast: “The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF.

“Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children.”

The Palestine Islamic Jihad said accusations that the hospital blast was caused by a misfired rocket from their side were “false and baseless".

How the world reacted

There was widespread condemnation of the hospital blast from countries around the world in the immediate aftermath.

While some leaders have been careful not to point the blame until all the facts are known, others made their feelings clear about who they believe is responsible.

US

President Joe Biden, who has travelled to Israel, said on Wednesday morning: “Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you." But Biden added there were “a lot of people out there” who weren't sure what caused the blast.

He added that he was “deeply saddened and outraged” by the hospital explosion, before stressing that “Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people and it has brought them only suffering.”

UK

Foreign secretary James Cleverly was careful not to point the blame yet, saying the UK will investigate what happened first.

In a post on X, Cleverly said: “The destruction of al Ahli hospital is a devastating loss of human life. The UK has been clear. The protection of civilian life must come first.

“The UK will work with our allies to find out what has happened and protect innocent civilians in Gaza.”

Egypt

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a statement on Tuesday, saying: "I condemn in the strongest of terms Israel's bombardment" on a hospital in Gaza, and calling it a "clear violation of intl law."

A statement from the Egyptian foreign affairs ministry said that Israel should “immediately cease its collective punishment policies against the people of the Gaza Strip”.

It said Israel should “stop targeting” the Rafah crossing – the only passageway between Gaza and Egypt that has been hit by Israeli airstrikes.

Jordan

Jordan's King Abdullah said in the aftermath the destruction of the hospital was a "massacre" and a "war crime".

In a royal court statement the monarch blamed the bombing on Israel and said its actions against Palestinians were a "shame on humanity", and that the military campaign against Gaza should end immediately.

Iran

Iran’s foreign ministry said shortly after the incident that Israel was behind the “heinous attack”.

Meanwhile foreign minister ​​Hossein Amirabdollahian posted on X (formerly known as Twitter): “After the terrible crime of the Zionist regime in the bombing and massacre of more than a thousand innocent women and children in the hospital the time has come for the global unity of humanity against this fake regime more hated than ISIS and its killing machine.”

He added: “Time is over.”

Turkey

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan said the hospital strike was “the latest example of Israel’s attacks devoid of fundamental human values”.

He added on X: "I call on all humanity to take action to stop this unprecedented brutality in Gaza."

Saudi Arabia

The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement that it “condemns in the strongest possible terms the heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces”.

It urged the opening of safe corridors to enable aid to the region, adding that it was necessary “to hold the Israeli occupation forces fully responsible for their continued repeated violations of all international norms and laws”.

Syria

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said in a post on X that the hospital attack “constitutes one of the most heinous and bloodiest massacres against humanity in the modern era”.

He added in another post that Syria holds Western countries, especially the US, “responsible for this massacre and other massacres, as it is a partner of the Zionist entity in all organized killing operations against the Palestinian people”.

Hezbollah

Islamist militia group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, called for a “day of rage against the enemy” after the hospital explosion.

It blamed Israel, calling the blast a “massacre” and a “brutal crime”.

Additional reporting from Reuters