At least 500 people have reportedly been killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a hospital in Gaza today, Hamas has claimed.

Unverified photographs circulating on social media showed fire engulfing the al-Ahli Hospital halls, shattered glass and body parts scattered across the area. 

Hundreds of people displaced by 10 days of heavy bombardment were reportedly seeking shelter at the hospital at the time of the blast. 

‘Hundreds of victims are still under the rubble,’ Hamas said in a statment, calling it a ‘war crime’.

The Israeli military says it is looking into the report. If confirmed, the attack on the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City it would be by far the deadliest Israeli airstrike in five wars fought since 2008.

It comes as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered Palestinians to flee from Gaza City and head south ahead of an expected ground offensive. 

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip says at least 500 people have been killed in an explosion that it says was caused by an Israeli airstrike

Unverified photographs circulating on social media showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass and body parts scattered across the area

Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for hundreds of people, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there were still no details on the hospital deaths, adding: ‘We will get the details and update the public. I don’t know to say whether it was an Israeli air strike.’

In the south, continued strikes killed dozens of civilians and at least one senior Hamas figure on Tuesday in attacks it says are targeted at militants.

US officials worked to convince Israel to allow delivery of supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals after days of failed hopes for an opening in the siege.

With Israel barring entry of water, fuel and food into Gaza since the brutal attack by Hamas more than a week ago, US secretary of state Antony Blinken secured an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss creation of a mechanism for delivering aid to the territory’s 2.3 million people.

US officials said the gain might appear modest, but stressed that it was a significant step forward. Still, as of late Tuesday, there was no deal in place.

A top Israeli official said on Tuesday his country was demanding guarantees that Hamas militants would not seize any aid deliveries.

Tzahi Hanegbi, head of Israel’s National Security Council, suggested entry of aid also depended on the return of hostages held by Hamas.

‘The return of the hostages, which is sacred in our eyes, is a key component in any humanitarian efforts,’ he told reporters, without elaborating whether Israel was demanding the release of all of the roughly 200 people Hamas abducted before allowing supplies in.’

Teams conduct a search and rescue operations following the Israeli airstrikes on a building at Al Bureij Refugee Camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on October 17, 2023

Israeli troops with a variety of military vehicles at a gathering site at an undisclosed location along the Israel-Gaza border, in southern Israel, 17 October 2023

An Israeli soldier patrolling the Israel-Gaza border today in an armored personnel vehicle 

Israeli troops in Armoured Personnel Carriers patrolling along the Israel-Gaza border

Palestinians described intense bombardments early Tuesday near two towns in southern Gaza, where Israel had ordered civilians to seek refuge. 

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Dozens of injured were rushed to hospitals after heavy attacks outside the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, residents reported. 

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official and former health minister, reported 27 people were killed in Rafah and 30 in Khan Younis.

An airstrike in Deir al Balah reduced a house to rubble, killing a man and 11 women and children inside and in a neighboring house, some of whom had evacuated from Gaza City. Witnesses said there was no warning before the strike.

Separately, the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees said six people were killed when one of its schools sheltering displaced families was hit, during Israeli air strikes.

UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini called the bombing at Al-Maghazi refugee camp, also in central Gaza, ‘outrageous’ and warned the death toll would likely rise.

‘It again shows a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians. No place is safe in Gaza anymore, not even UNRWA facilities,’ he added.

Shelling from Israeli tanks hit a UN school in central Gaza where 4,000 Palestinians had taken refuge, killing six people and wounding dozens, the UN Palestinian refugee agency said. At least 24 UN installations have been hit the past week, killing at least 14 of the agency’s staff.

The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas hideouts, infrastructure and command centres. 

Palestinians rescue a girl from the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike at the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip on October 17, 2023

A Palestinian woman reacts amidst the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike on the Rafah refugee camp, in southern Gaza Strip today

A barrage of strikes crashed into the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, levelling an entire block of homes and causing dozens of casualties among families inside, residents said. 

Among those killed was one of Hamas’ top military commanders, Ayman Nofal, the group’s military wing said – the most high-profile militant known to have been killed so far in the war.

Nofal, formerly the intelligence chief of Hamas’ armed wing, was in charge of Hamas militant activities in the central Gaza Strip, including coordinating activities with other militant groups.

Netanyahu sought to put the blame on Hamas for Israel’s retaliatory attacks and the rising civilian casualties in Gaza. ‘Not only is it targeting and murdering civilians with unprecedented savagery, it’s hiding behind civilians,’ he said.

In Gaza City, Israeli airstrikes also hit the house of Hamas’ top political official, Ismail Haniyeh, killing at least 14 people. Haniyeh is based in Doha, Qatar, but his family lives in Gaza City. The Hamas media office did not immediately identify those killed.

Israel sealed off Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in some 200 taken captive into Gaza. Hamas militants in Gaza have launched rockets every day since, aiming at cities across Israel.

US officials worked to convince Israel to allow delivery of supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals after days of failed hopes for an opening in the siege.

With Israel barring entry of water, fuel and food into Gaza since Hamas’ brutal attack last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken secured an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss creation of a mechanism for delivering aid to the territory’s 2.3 million people. U.S. officials said the gain might appear modest, but stressed that it was a significant step forward.

Still, as of late Tuesday, there was no deal in place. A top Israeli official said Tuesday his country was demanding guarantees that Hamas militants would not seize any aid deliveries. Tzahi Hanegbi, head of Israel’s National Security Council, suggested entry of aid also depended on the return of hostages held by Hamas.

‘The return of the hostages, which is sacred in our eyes, is a key component in any humanitarian efforts,’ he told reporters, without elaborating whether Israel was demanding the release of all of the roughly 200 people Hamas abducted before allowing supplies in.

US President Joe Biden prepared to head to the region as he and other world leaders tried to prevent the war from sparking a broader regional conflict.