After Gaza hospital bombing kills hundreds, Israel and Hamas blame each other: Updates

Editor's note: This page is the news of the Israel-Hamas war from Tuesday, Oct. 17. For the latest news on the war in Israel and President Joe Biden's visit to the area, follow our live updates for Wednesday, Oct. 18.

Israelis and Palestinians blamed each other Tuesday for an explosion Hamas said killed hundreds at a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded people and others seeking shelter from relentless bombing.

The events scuttled President Joe Biden's summit with Arab leaders scheduled for Wednesday after his visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, initially said an Israeli airstrike tore through Al Ahli Arab Hospital and estimated the number of fatalities at a minimum of 500. The Israel Defense Forces said it would investigate, then issued a statement denying involvement.

"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,'' the statement said. "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."

The U.S. considers Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza and the West Bank, a terrorist organization. It occasionally cooperates with Hamas, which called the result of the explosion "a horrific massacre'' caused by Israel.

However, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the army determined there were no air force, ground or naval attacks in the area at the time of the blast, just before 7 p.m. He said radars detected outgoing rocket fire at the same moment, and intercepted communications between militant groups indicated Islamic Jihad fired the rockets.

Verified video shows fire engulfing the hospital building and its grounds strewn with torn bodies. About 350 casualties from the Al-Ahli explosion were transported to Gaza City’s main hospital, al-Shifa, which was already overwhelmed with wounded from airstrikes, said its director, Mohammed Abu Selmia.

One witness at the Al-Ahli hospital, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah with Doctors Without Borders, described the scene this way: "We were operating in the hospital, there was a strong explosion, and the ceiling fell on the operating room. This is a massacre."

The American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which operates the medical center, said in a statement Tuesday evening that hundreds of staff, patients, and refugees who were sheltering at Ahli Arab Hospital were killed and wounded. Hospital officials said the attack occurred on the same day that the Patriarchs and Heads of 13 Churches declared a day of fasting and prayer for peace in the Holy Land.

The hospital, which means “The Arab People’s Hospital" in Arabic, provides care to all people in Gaza regardless of faith or other affiliations, the organization said.

Palestinians have been seeking refuge in and around hospitals from the persistent Israeli bombardment of Gaza prompted by the Oct. 7 Hamas rampage that killed about 1,400 in Israeli territory. Israel’s military has been preparing a ground assault that’s expected soon and told residents of northern Gaza to evacuate to the south, where some airstrikes have continued.

Biden said in a statement his team is collecting information about the hospital explosion.

"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,'' he said.

USA TODAY reporter Kim Hjelmgaard contributed from Jerusalem.

Developments:

∎ Egypt is negotiating with Israel on plans to deliver humanitarian assistance and fuel to Gaza, a senior Egyptian official told the Associated Press. Trucks have been waiting for days to deliver the aid.

∎ Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Hamas members to surrender or die: "We will wipe out the Hamas organization and dismantle it of all its capabilities,” he said.

∎ Besides the 2,778 who have been killed and 9,700 wounded in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, another 1,200 people are believed to be buried under rubble.

2,000 US troops told to prepare to deploy in response to Israel-Hamas war: Updates

Biden's meeting with Arab leaders in Jordan canceled

Even before Biden left for the Middle East on Tuesday, his trip sustained a big setback.

Jordan canceled the four-way summit it was scheduled to host Wednesday with Biden and three Arab leaders, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on state-run television. The White House confirmed the change of plans in a statement.

Safadi told al-Mamlaka TV the Israel-Hamas war was “pushing the region to the brink.” Preventing the war from escalating is one of the major goals of Biden's trip, which will begin as scheduled with a meeting with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials Wednesday in Tel Aviv.

From there, Biden was supposed to travel to Amman for talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas canceled earlier Tuesday following the hospital explosion in Gaza City and announced days of mourning.

Biden "looks forward to consulting in person with these leaders soon, and agreed to remain regularly and directly engaged with each of them over the coming days,'' the White House said.

U.N. chief, world leaders 'horrified' by hospital attacks

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned the attack on Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, reiterating in a post on X that medical centers and personnel are protected under international humanitarian law.

On Tuesday night in New York, the United Arab Emirates and Russia called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting about the crisis in the region, including the strike on the hospital, according to the U.N. 

The hospital was one of 20 in the north Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli army, according to the World Health Organization. Officials said the orders were "impossible" to carry out because many patients were in critical condition, and the center lacked ambulances, staff, and alternative shelter for displaced people.

Since the attacks began on Oct. 7, there have been more than 115 attacks on healthcare centers across occupied Palestinian territory, according to the WHO. Fifty-one occurred in the Gaza Strip, with 15 hospital workers killed and 27 injured. The other incidents happened in the West Bank, officials said.

According to WHO officials, critical supplies, including food and medicine, are running out in Gaza. Out of 35 hospitals, four are non-operational due to severe damage in the conflict. Only eight of 22 UNRWA medical centers were partially functional. Blood banks reportedly only have a week's supply left.

Earlier on Tuesday, the agency condemned an attack that killed at least six people in a school run by UNRWA, a U.N. program that assists refugees

'Despicable, deplorable': Hamas hostage video, draws outrage

A shaken mother on Tuesday called for her daughter to be freed after Hamas released a video showing the French-Israeli hostage having her arm bandaged – the first sign of life from any of the hostages seized in the tumultuous first hours of the war.

Keren Schem, speaking at a news conference, said she had not known if her 21-year-old daughter, Mia, was dead or alive until seeing the video Monday. Mia Schem was taken from a party at Kibbutz Reim where more than 260 revelers were killed and dozens more seized as part of the killing rampage by Hamas militants that rocked Israel and the world 10 days ago.

The video was the first depicting any of the roughly 200 hostages Israel says were taken during the attack.

"I’m begging the world to bring my baby back home," Keren Schem said. “This is a crime against humanity and we should all gather and stop this terror and bring everybody back home."

Israeli and French officials condemned the release of the video. John Kirby, the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, expressed outrage Tuesday and called for the immediate release of all hostages.

"It’s despicable, deplorable that they would take these hostages and then advertise how well they’re treating them when they’re the ones who hurt them in the first place," Kirby said on NBC’s “Today” show.

Hamas leader dismisses Israeli military as 'paper tiger'

Hamas leaders were shocked at the lack of resistance from the Israeli army when the militants crashed through the border Oct. 7, a member of the group's leadership team in Beirut told the Washington Post. Ali Barakeh said the plan called for capturing some hostages and quickly returning to Gaza. But the Israeli army "collapsed in front of us," he said, causing the number of hostages and Israeli casualties to soar.

Israeli officials have confirmed at least 199 hostages were taken, with a death toll of more than 1,400. “The Israeli army has become a paper tiger,” Barakeh said.

President Joe Biden to travel to Israel on Wednesday amid war in the Middle East

UN agency wants probe of Israel bombings in Gaza

A United Nations agency on Tuesday called for an independent investigation of "appalling reports" that Israeli bombings killed civilians who were evacuating northern Gaza ahead of what is expected to be a massive ground invasion by Israeli troops.

Israel had told more than 1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate.

"We urge the Israeli forces to avoid targeting civilians and civilian objects or conducting area bombardments, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

Those who complied with the evacuation are now trapped in the south with little food or shelter and little or no access to clean water, sanitation, medicine and other basic needs, Shamdasani said.

Shamdasani said 4,200 people have died on both sides and large areas of Gaza have been "reduced to rubble."

"Every effort must be made to ensure the strict compliance by all parties to the laws of war in the conduct of hostilities and the treatment of civilians," she said, adding that humanitarian assistance must be allowed to reach Gaza "to prevent further, unnecessary loss of life."

Israeli-Hamas war stirring emotions in US

Emotions have been running high far beyond the Middle East in the 10 days the war has raged. Many people have expressed their fears and frustrations on social media in an effort to empathize and seek personal connections to tragedies in lieu of or in addition to private conversations. Some may be trying to alleviate guilt, to feel like they're doing something, to "perform" uneducated solidarity.

People aiming to preserve relationships fractured by the war between Israel and Hamas should tread lightly, experts say.

"Reactions like rage and heartbreak are normal," says Kimberly Vered Shashoua, a licensed clinical social worker. "If you’re feeling too overwhelmed with your own emotions, that’s OK. Just let your partner or loved ones know you need some time or space before you are up for having deep conversations." Read more here.

− David Oliver

Cruise ship evacuates Americans from Israel to Cyprus

The Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas helped evacuate U.S. nationals from Israel on Monday after canceling its itineraries due to the war. The ship sailed from Haifa in northern Israel, arriving in Limassol, Cyprus, early Tuesday with 159 people aboard, most of them Americans, the Cyprus website KNEWS reported.

Jason Liberty, CEO of the line’s parent company Royal Caribbean Group, said in an email to employees shared with USA TODAY that the evacuation was conducted in partnership with the U.S. State Department. The U.S. ambassador to Cypress, Julie Fisher, was among those greeting the ship at the passenger terminal.

"Assisting Americans overseas is our highest priority & we were honored to welcome to #Limassol those who arrived from Israel," the U.S. embassy in Cyprus tweeted.

− Nathan Diller

'I won't condemn Hamas': Some Palestinians are finding it hard to denounce attacks on Israel

What is Hamas?

Hamas – an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, or the Islamic resistance movement – was founded in 1987 by activists connected to the Muslim Brotherhood during the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. The State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997, and several other nations also consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

In 2006, Hamas won parliamentary elections, and in 2007 the group violently seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority, which was controlled by the rival Fatah movement that still governs the West Bank. There have been no elections since. The group calls for establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state that would replace the current state of Israel and believes in the use of violence to carry out the destruction of Israel.

Hamas receives financial, material and logistical support from Iran. So far, however, the U.S. and other nations have said there is no evidence that Iran was directly involved in Hamas’ attack.

Contributing: Vanessa Arredondo, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: After Gaza hospital strike, battle over blame: Israel war updates