(NewsNation) — As tensions grow in the Middle East conflict between Israel and Hamas, a battle over optics and blame is mounting too.

Images of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists that killed 1,400 Israelis and led to the capture of at least 199 hostages have played out against images of Israeli airstrikes pummeling Gaza, turning the region into rubble and leaving refugees in desperate straits.

Competing narratives are beginning to emerge, with both Israel and Hamas trading blame for casualties. The most recent example came Tuesday when a blast at al-Alhi Hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of people.

Hamas claims it resulted from an Israel Defense Forces airstrike, while Tel Aviv says a faulty rocket launched by Islamic Jihad led to the explosion.

Hen Mazzig, former Israel Defense Forces member and senior policy analyst at the Tel Aviv Institute, told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas it was “expected” that sympathy would grow for Palestinians as images from the strikes began to emerge.

“We knew that after the retaliation, we were going to see less and less support from the international community and less understanding,” Mazzig said. “So, we have expected it, and I wish it wasn’t like that.”

António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, said in a statement he was “horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza today, which I strongly condemn.”

“My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law,” he added.

Before the al-Alhi Hospital deaths, Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 2,778 people and wounded 9,700, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Nearly two-thirds of those killed were children, a ministry official said. Another 1,200 people across Gaza are believed to be buried under the rubble, alive or dead, health authorities said.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and took some 200 captive into Gaza. Hamas militants in Gaza have launched rockets every day since, aiming at cities across Israel.

In protest over the purported airstrike, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas canceled his participation in a meeting with President Joe Biden, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi set for Wednesday in Amman, Jordan, to discuss the war. Abbas’ Palestinian Authority runs parts of the West Bank.

Hundreds of Palestinians flooded the streets of major West Bank cities including Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, where protesters hurled stones at Palestinian security forces who fired back with stun grenades. Hundreds of people joined protests that erupted in Beirut and Amman, where an angry crowd gathered outside the Israeli Embassy.

Hamas called Tuesday’s hospital strike “a horrific massacre.”

Riyad Mansour, Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, blamed the blast on Israel and called for a cease-fire.

“Now they change the story to try to blame the Palestinians. It is a lie,” Mansour said during a news conference at the U.N. headquarters.

Mazzig suggested the Israelis have been “measured” in their response.

“Israel is mindful of the innocent civilians, and I think that’s why when we’re speaking about this hospital, you know, Israel could have bombed a hospital if they wanted to, they could have bombed every hospital in Gaza if they wanted to, but they don’t want to,” Mazzig said. “The IDF is trying its best to protect civilians.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.