In order to express his condolences for the loss of life following the bombing of Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called with Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority. As a result of the hospital’s death toll on Monday, protests broke out throughout the Arab world, and Israel, which has been held responsible for the rocket attack, issued a number of denials.
Health officials in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, reported that an explosion at the hospital killed 200 to 300 people and was brought on by an Israeli air strike in retribution for the Islamist group’s attack on October 7.
“I spoke with Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority. expressed my sorrow on the deaths of civilians at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. We will keep sending the Palestinian people humanitarian aid. shared our profound worry about the violence, terrorism, and deteriorating security situation in the area. PM Modi today tweeted on X, formerly Twitter, “Reiterated India’s long-standing moral position on the Israel-Palestine problem.
Spoke to the President of the Palestinian Authority H.E. Mahmoud Abbas. Conveyed my condolences at the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. We will continue to send humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. Shared our deep concern at the terrorism,…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 19, 2023
Traditionally, India has supported the Palestinian cause, and this was PM Modi’s second post in that support. But recently, relations between India and Israel have also improved, particularly following Prime Minister Modi’s trip to the Jewish state in 2017. He did not visit Ramallah to speak with the Palestinian leadership at the time, which led many to believe that something had changed.
This time, PM Modi expressed his sorrow at the attack’s fatalities in a social media post on Tuesday and offered his sympathies to the families of the victims.
Israel has attributed the attack to a Palestinian organisation while contesting all available evidence, including death certificates, bomb craters, and photographs of the destroyed hospital. The US, an ally of Israel, has said that preliminary evidence does not point to Israel as the perpetrator of the bombing.
According to US Vice President Joe Biden, who is presently in Israel on a visit, a deadly explosion at the Gaza hospital was caused by a “errant rocket” fired by a “terrorist group.”
Following the explosion, Mr. Biden’s planned trip to Jordan on Tuesday was cancelled, undermining US efforts to rally Arab support for Israel’s “right to defend itself.”
