Hamas on Saturday denounced as “barbaric” overnight strikes it claimed damaged a Gaza children’s hospital, while Israel’s army said it was responding to rocket fire from the enclave.
The Israeli army said it struck three Hamas targets, including a rocket manufacturing site, underground infrastructure and a military post, after two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip.
Gaza’s ruling Hamas in a statement said a “barbaric” Israeli strike had damaged a children’s hospital and a centre for people with special needs.
Medical sources in Gaza said the strikes “lightly wounded” two civilians, including a child.
The Israeli army, however, insisted on Saturday afternoon that it did not hit the hospital.
“Secondary explosions, which were identified from the strike on the Hamas rocket manufacturing site, are suspected of causing the damage to the nearby located hospital,” an army statement said. Hamas “deliberately places military targets at the heart of densely populated areas”, while the Israeli army “takes all possible precautions to avoid harming civilians and civilian buildings”, the statement added.
Read the article in The Australian (AFP).