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In the evening of October 17, 2023, an explosion occurred at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City. Following Hamas’ claim that an Israeli airstrike had caused the blast, the IDF conducted a thorough investigation and determined that the explosion had been caused by an errant rocket fired towards Israel by the Islamic Jihad terror group. According to the IDF, this errant rocket is one of approximately 450 Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets that have misfired and landed in Gaza during this war. The IDF's determination of Islamic Jihad culpability rests on three factors: The timeline surrounding the explosion, internal Hamas communications following the explosion, and aerial footage of the impact site. A number of countries, including many of Israel's Western allies, such as the United States and a number of European countries, condemned the attacks by Hamas, expressed solidarity for Israel and stated that Israel has a right to defend itself from armed attacks, while countries of the Muslim world (including the Axis of Resistance) have expressed support for the Palestinians, blaming the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories as being the root cause for the escalation of violence. The events prompted several world leaders to announce their intention to visit Israel, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Numerous countries called for a ceasefire and de-escalation. International organizations, students organizations, charities, ecumenical Christian organizations, , Jewish and Islamic Groups commented on the situation.