CAIRO, October 13. /TASS/. The health ministry of the Gaza Strip has announced the evacuation of a children’s hospital in the enclave’s east after it was shelled with white phosphorus munitions, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Facebook page (the social media owned by US corporation Meta that is outlawed as an extremist organization in Russia).

"Evacuation of Al-Durra Children’s Hospital in the east of the Gaza Strip after it was pounded with white phosphorus munitions," the health ministry said.

Earlier, Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international rights organization, accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions during its military operations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. The report based on videos and eyewitness statements said: "Human Rights Watch verified videos taken in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11, 2023, respectively, showing multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border."

On October 11, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry blamed Israel for using phosphorus and cluster munitions in the Gaza Strip. Justice Minister Mohammad Al-Shalaldeh said that Palestine has filed a request with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to address Israel’s use of banned weapons for bombing the enclave.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. More than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 others injured. In Israel, at least 1,500 people have lost their lives and almost 4,000 have been wounded.