Over 500 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Baptist hospital in Gaza, Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Tuesday.
Husam Abu Safeya, head doctor for MedGlobal, a Chicago-based nongovernmental organization (NGO), cited his colleague Husam Abu Safeya, a doctor working in northern Gaza as saying: "We can’t deal with the large number of deaths and injuries. Most victims are women and children sleeping in the hospital. We expect more hospitals to be bombed. There is no safe place in Gaza."
Footage showed corpses scattered across the hospital grounds.
"Hundreds of victims are still under the rubble," a spokesperson was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The media office of Gaza's Hamas government described the attack as a "war crime."
"The hospital was housing hundreds of sick and wounded, and people forcibly displaced from their homes" because of other strikes, a statement said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning following the deadly airstrike on the hospital in Gaza.
"What is taking place is genocide. We call on the international community to intervene immediately to stop this massacre. Silence is no longer acceptable," a statement issued by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said in response to the attack.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army, for its part, said reports of a possible airstrike on the hospital "are still under review."
Daniel Hagari, an Israeli army spokesperson, said he does not have all the information yet, and further details will be provided when possible, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.
The Hagari said that he does not know yet if the blast at the hospital was an Israeli strike.
Palestinian group Hamas called Israel's targeting of the hospital a "genocide."
The airstrike came on day 11 in the current conflict, with a growing international chorus of NGOs and world leaders saying the Israeli bombing campaign on the besieged Gaza Strip – including health care facilities, homes, and houses of worship – violates international law and may constitute a war crime.
Around 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip since the war erupted on Oct. 7.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed.
Earlier on Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Israel hit health services in Gaza 41 times since Oct. 7.
"Since Oct. 7, there have been 41 confirmed attacks on health care services in Gaza. A total of 11 health care workers have been killed while on active duty, and 16 have been injured. As the attacks continue, these numbers are likely to increase," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said Tuesday, in response to a question by Anadolu Agency (AA) on the state of health care in Gaza.
Expressing concern over the situation, Jasarevic said that hospitals in the region are grappling with overwhelming numbers of patients, pushing their capacities to the limit.
Separately, the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees said six people were killed when one of its schools sheltering displaced families was hit, during Israeli airstrikes.
U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called the bombing at the al-Maghazi refugee camp, also in central Gaza, "outrageous" and warned the death toll would likely rise.
"It again shows a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians. No place is safe in Gaza anymore, not even UNRWA facilities," he added.