'Wait for the facts' says Britain on Gaza hospital blast

LONDON: British foreign minister James Cleverly on Wednesday urged people to wait for the facts about a blast at a hospital in Gaza and said too many people had already jumped to conclusions.

"Last night, too many jumped to conclusions around the tragic loss of life at Al Ahli hospital," Cleverly wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"Getting this wrong would put even more lives at risk. Wait for the facts, report them clearly and accurately. Cool heads must prevail."

The blast at Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital in Gaza on Tuesday killed huge numbers of people, wrecking an emergency diplomatic mission by US President Joe Biden, who backed Israel's account that the explosion was caused by militants not by Israel.

Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli air strike for the blast which engulfed the hospital, whilst Israel said it was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group - which denied blame.