GRAPHIC-UPDATED, Palestine Looks Like Hell On Earth After Israel Bombs A Hostpial

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike Tuesday hit a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds. If confirmed, the attack would be by far the deadliest Israeli airstrike in five wars fought since 2008.

Photos from al-Ahli Hospital showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass and body parts scattered across the area. The ministry said at least 500 people had been killed.

Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for hundreds of people, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.

UPDATE: Reports suggest that the mass casualty event at the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City was the result of a misfired rocket launch by Hamas.

No IDF air activity was reported at the time and the timing coincided with a salvo of rockets launched at Israel.

The IDF issues a statement making clear that it does not target hospitals, two hours after a blast at Gaza Hospital, blamed by Hamas on Israel, said to have caused hundreds of fatalities.

“A hospital is a highly sensitive building and is not an IDF target. The IDF is investigating the source of the explosion and, like always, is prioritizing accuracy and reliability,” the army tells Fox News.

Talya Lankri, a senior reserves officer and the former deputy head of the National Security Council, also states on Channel 12 news that “the IDF does not hit hospitals. That is not a target.”

She says, therefore, that she believes that the IDF investigation into the incident “will either show some kind of technical malfunction or a failed launch of some kind or another from within Gaza.”