BEIJING, October 18. /TASS/. A lethal attack on a hospital in the Gaza Strip is a ‘tragedy and catastrophe,’ Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"Speaking about the attack on the hospital, the tragedy that took place there, I must say it’s a horrible event; hundreds killed, hundreds wounded. This is certainly a catastrophe," Putin said.

The Russian president said he hoped that the hospital tragedy in the Gaza Strip would serve as a signal for the immediate end to the ongoing conflict.

"In any way, everything must be directed toward the possibility of starting contacts and negotiations," he added.

Arab media outlets reported on October 17 that Israeli airstrikes on the central part of Gaza City had hit a hospital. The attack killed over 500 people and left hundreds wounded, according to the Palestinian radical group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied responsibility, saying in a statement that the powerful explosion in the Gaza City hospital had resulted from a misfired rocket launched from within the Palestinian enclave. The IDF blamed the Islamic Jihad group for the rocket strike on the hospital.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria.

According to the latest official data, more than 3,500 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 13,700 others have sustained wounds. In Israel, over 1,500 people have lost their lives and over 4,200 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.