15 people were killed, according to Gaza health officials, in an Israeli airstrike on an ambulance that the military claimed was targeting Hamas militants. On Saturday in Jordan, Washington’s top diplomat was scheduled to hear Arab and US officials appeals for a truce.
Health officials in the Hamas-run territory of Gaza claimed on Friday that the ambulance that was struck by the Israeli strike was a part of a convoy that was transporting wounded Palestinians to the largest hospital in Gaza, al-Shifa.
According to health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra, “(Israel) immediately targeted the convoy’s second vehicle upon their arrival in al-Shifa, committing a terrible massacre that claimed the lives of fifteen and wounded over sixty.”
An ambulance “being used by a Hamas terrorist cell” was detected and struck, according to the Israeli military, which also claimed that several Hamas fighters were killed.
“We want to be clear that this is a combat zone. For their own protection, civilians in the region are frequently asked to flee south,” the military stated.
The Palestinian Health Ministry, under Hamas control, questioned Israel about the ambulance attack and asked it to produce documentation proving the vehicle was carrying militants.
“A hideous massacre was carried out by the occupation, resulting in the martyrdom of fifteen individuals and the injuries of sixty others, including several displaced people,” al-Qidra declared. The Israeli military claimed it planned to release more information, but it offered no proof for its claim that the ambulance was associated with Hamas.
