The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency session on Wednesday following an explosion at a Gaza hospital that has set the Middle East on edge. Russia and the United Arab Emirates called for an open meeting shortly after the explosion, in the courtyard of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, which according to Hamas sources, killed some 500 Palestinians. The explosion rocked the hospital as Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired heavy barrages of rockets at southern and central Israel. Alarms sounded in cities including Rishon Lezion, Petach Tikvah, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan and Bat Yam.The Israel Defense Forces released intercepted Hamas communications confirming the disaster was caused by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket fired from a nearby cemetery that fell short. Hamas and much of the Arab world immediately blamed Israel, accusing the IDF of deliberately striking the hospital.
During the fighting in May, Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s rocket misfires killed four Gaza civilians. Israel has been striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip since an October 7 assault by Hamas on Israeli communities near the Gaza border that caught Israelis off-guard. Fighting raged for days as the IDF initially struggled to clear out the terrorists.
More than 1,400 Israelis were killed and over 4,100 more injured. At least 199 hostages were taken to Gaza.
On Tuesday evening, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, held a joint press conference with ambassadors from the Arab Group, a bloc of 20 Arab countries. Mansour called for an immediate ceasefire and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of lying about who is at fault for the hospital strike.
The UAE, which was initially supportive of Israel following Hamas’s October 7 attacks, has since fallen back into its role as the voice of the Arab world in the Security Council. The Emiratis issued a statement on Tuesday evening that “strongly condemns the Israeli attack that resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of people.”
The Emiratis also voted to support a Russian resolution calling for a ceasefire which omitted any mention of Hamas on Monday. The resolution was vetoed by the US, Britain and France. Gilad Erdan, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, wrote on Tuesday evening that “the terrorists in Gaza are not only responsible for murdering Israeli children–they also murder Palestinian children.”
Regarding the hospital explosion, Erdan implored the global community to “stop believing these ISIS-like terrorists. The only ones shooting indiscriminate missiles at civilians are the Palestinians, who have been doing it for years.”