A woman reacts while holding a pillow as she stands amidst debris outside the site of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza on October 18, 2023 in the aftermath of an overnight strike there. A blast ripped through a hospital in war-torn Gaza, killing hundreds of people late on October 17. Photo:AFP

I strongly urge the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to take immediate action and investigate the brutal bombing of the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, which has resulted in at least 500 deaths. This is a clear case of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since the end of World War II, and likely even during the war, there has never been a war action that caused 500 deaths in a single hospital. If the perpetrators of this crime are not brought to justice, the ICC might as well close its doors.

As a direct result of the attack on the hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of people, Jordan has canceled a summit it was to host in Amman on Wednesday with US President Joe Biden and the Egyptian and Palestinian leaders. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Arab leaders also refused to meet with Biden. The Arab countries have condemned Israel in the harshest words, and Israel, caught in a tsunami of criticism, refused to take the blame, but instead claimed that Israeli radar"detected outgoing rocket fire at the same moment, and intercepted communications between militant groups," and that intelligence showed that Islamic Jihad militants had fired a barrage of rockets near the hospital, where Israeli forces were present at the time. But the international community finds it difficult to believe this claim.

According to accounts from personnel inside the hospital, the disaster was caused by a "strong explosion." Israel has accused Jihadist forces of launching rockets at the hospital, but it is hard to believe that the soil-based rockets in Gaza could generate such immense power. 

Most people believe that only Israel's bombs, which must be thrown with great precision, could be the cause of so many casualties in one incident. If Hamas rockets had such power, the casualties inflicted on Israeli personnel would not have been as reported on October 7, when Hamas launched 5,000 rockets toward the Israeli-controlled area.

Israel has pulled a similar stunt before: causing its own casualties but claiming that the Palestinians did it. The closest was when a female Al-Jazeera reporter was shot dead by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank in May last year, but Israel accused the militants in the Jenin camp of being responsible. It was not until the US media finally came out to accuse the Israeli army of killing the journalist, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also stood out to blame Israel, that the Israeli side finally changed its claim. It said that the journalist was killed by "wrong" gunfire from an Israeli soldier, but still refused to conduct a criminal investigation.

The airstrike this time resulted in 500 deaths. The international investigation must not be neglected, and the perpetrators of this grave massacre must be brought to justice. Let Israel present all their arguments to the International Court of Justice. If such investigation and eventual punishment are obstructed and cannot proceed, then the West should never again speak of "justice" to the world. The ICC in The Hague may as well be dismantled and its bricks and stones used to build a tomb for justice.

The author is a Chinese media professional. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn