Those involved in blast at Gaza hospital should be held responsible: PM Modi

New Delhi: A day after a deadly air strike killed hundreds at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern.
While condoling the tragic loss of lives at the hospital, PM Modi said that those involved in causing the explosion at the hospital should be held responsible.
“Deeply shocked at the tragic loss of lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and prayers for speedy recovery of those injured. Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. Those involved should be held responsible,” Modi said in a post on “X” formerly called “Twitter”. Several top leaders from across the world have condemned the attack on the hospital in Gaza amid ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. US President Joe Biden in a post on X said, " I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted. Immediately upon hearing this news, I spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and have 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,"
he further said. As per World Health Organization (WHO), the Al Ahli Hospital was operational, with patients, health and care givers, and internally displaced people sheltering there. It was one of 20 hospitals in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military.
Meanwhile, Israeli military has denied its involvement in air strike on the hospital.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has maintained that the blast was actually caused by a failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad militant organization.