Israel-Gaza updates: Biden speaks with Netanyahu about hostages, Gaza aid

Archbishop Hosam Naoum, primate of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East, called Tuesday's explosion at the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital a "crime against humanity."

It's the oldest hospital in Gaza and the only Christian-led hospital in the area.

"The hospital itself is a sanctuary for people and what happened there is a crime ... a massacre," he said.

The blast killed at least 471 and injured another 314 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel and Hamas have traded blame for the hospital explosion with the Israeli military claiming it was a result of a "failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization," while Hamas has said it was the result of an Israeli airstrike. Two U.S. officials told ABC News the Pentagon independently concluded the blast was likely caused by an errant Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that fell short of its target.

On the questions surrounding who bombed the hospital, the archbishop said, "What we know is what we saw on TV” and that the victims are "people of the church, not military."

"We hope that … people will come to conclusion that enough with this war, and enough with the lives that have been lost on every side," he said.

-ABC News' Emmanuelle Saliba

The U.S. on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver lifesaving aid to millions in Gaza, with U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield saying the "resolution did not mention Israel's right of self-defense."

Meanwhile, Israeli and Palestinian officials both chastised the U.N. at the meeting.

Israel called it a "disgrace" that the U.N. has not condemned Hamas.

"It is really unfathomable! You cannot unite even on that basic thing," Israel Ambassador Gilad Erdan said. "Instead, the council is fixated only on humanitarian corridors and aid. These are important and noble causes, but they are certainly not a solution to prevent Hamas' next atrocious massacre."

The Palestinian ambassador said failure to demand a cease-fire is opening a Pandora's box of risk for the world.

"The events of the last 10 days may shape the next 10 years in our region and beyond. What happens next is decisive," Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour said. "Anyone thinks this is a situation under control for which you can plan and implement they are making false and irresponsible assumptions. This is the kind of war where you will know how it starts and have no clue how it ends."

5:08

Gamal Abdel Gawad on what the Israel-Gaza conflict means for the Middle East

The growing escalation in the region greatens the risk for a larger conflict.

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

Of the more than 3,000 killed and 12,000 injured in Gaza, 70% are children, women and the elderly, said Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the Health Ministry in Gaza.

He said the Ministry of Health has received about 1,300 reports of missing people under the rubble, including 600 children. He said the ministry believes there are some survivors in the rubble.

Tuesday marked the largest single-day death toll in Gaza's history, he said, attributed to the explosion at the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital that killed at least 471. The blast injured another 314 people, including 28 patients who are in critical condition, he said.

Israel and Hamas have traded blame for the hospital explosion with the Israeli military claiming it was a result of a "failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization," while Hamas has said it was the result of an Israeli airstrike. Two U.S. officials told ABC News the Pentagon independently concluded the blast was likely caused by an errant Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that fell short of its target.

4:57

Hospital strike kills hundreds in Gaza

At least 500 civilians are dead after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza that was sheltering thousands of Palestinians.

Hundreds of protesters took to a square in the West Bank, calling for Hamas to take over and for more rockets to hit Tel Aviv.

Among them was Palestinian activist Jamal Juma, who told ABC News he supports increased fighting and doesn't believe that Hamas committed atrocities in Israel.

Despite the thousands of dead in Gaza and Israel tightening its security across the West Bank, Juma said the Oct. 7 Hamas attack gave many Palestinians hope, because, he said, the battle lines are now clearly drawn.

He said there's as much anger at the Palestinian Authority and the U.S. as Israel.

"It’s so clear the anger of the people against the PA -- in the middle of the massacres against Gaza, and [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas wanted to go meet [President Joe] Biden in Jordan … it’s so clear to Palestinians that what’s launching war against the Palestinians is not Israel, it’s [the] United States of America," he said. "They mobilized the world against the Palestinians. We do not differentiate at all between Israel and the U.S."

-ABC News' Matt Gutman and Becky Perlow