UNITED NATIONS, October 18. /TASS/. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the recent strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip, which left at least 500 people dead.

"I am horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza today, which I strongly condemn," he wrote on the X social network, previously known as Twitter. "My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law.".

He also condemned the attack on a school of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which left at least six people dead.

Arab media reported that several powerful blasts rocked central districts of Gaza on Tuesday, dealing major damage to a local hospital building. The Al Hadath television attributed the explosions to an air strike delivered by Israel’s Air Force. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said with reference to "intelligence from multiple sources" that "Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza." According to Al Arabiya’s latest casualty report, the number of those killed and injured in the tragedy has exceeded 800.