Maldivian leader condemns deadly Gaza hospital strike, appeals for aid corridors

The Maldives has condemned the deadly Israeli air strike on a hospital in Gaza that has killed hundreds of civilians, and issued an urgent appeal for the establishment of humanitarian corridors.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih strongly condemned the attack on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza.

The hospital, which sheltered the wounded and displaced from Israeli bombing, was hit by an Israeli air strike on Tuesday night.

The attack killed at least 500 people, and wounded countless others.

In his message, President Solih stressed that targeting hospitals and non-combatants is “a gross violation of international law.”

He called on the global community to push for a ceasefire, and establish humanitarian corridors to ease the plight of Gaza’s residents.

The message by the Maldivian leader followed an earlier post by the country’s foreign minister, Abdulla Shahid, also condemning the attack.

Shahid said he was “shocked and horrified” by the attack on the hospital, and the loss of hundreds of innocent lives.

He reiterated Maldives’ call on the international community to use all measures to put an end to such deliberate acts of aggression, and to ensure unfettered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.

Medical and rescue workers have previously raised alarm over what they say is a pattern of deliberate targeting of medical vehicles by Israeli attacks.

The attack on the hospital comes amid a continuing barrage of Israeli air raids that have killed more than 3,000 people, and reduced entire neighborhoods in Gaza to rubble.