US security officials said on Wednesday that “Israel is not responsible” for a deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza, bolstering claims by its allies that the previous day’s explosion was the result of a misfired Hamas rocket.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson offered the assessment hours after President Biden said as much at a Tel Aviv press conference citing “data that my Department of Defense has shown.”
Watson said the NSC had analyzed “overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information” and would continue to gather intelligence on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital blast, which Gaza officials claim killed about 500 people.
Independent investigators also disputed Israel’s claims of responsibility and suggested the ruling Palestinian militant group inflated the hospital death toll in a bid to stoke tensions in the region as Israel continues relentless airstrikes in retaliation for terror attacks coordinated by Hamas. on Oct. 7
US security officials said on Wednesday that “Israel is not responsible” for a deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza, bolstering claims by its allies that the blast was from a misfired Hamas rocket.AP
“We have no indication of an airstrike — none,” Michael Knights, an expert on security and military issues at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the Wall Street Journal.
The Israeli military has cited radar and footage of the hospital grounds showing no structural damage to the facility or a large crater in the parking lot where the blast occurred, an indication that there was no airstrike.
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Israel Defense Forces spokesman Vice Admiral Daniel Hagari said investigators found that a line of about 10 rockets were fired by the Islamic Jihad arm of Hamas at a nearby cemetery at 6:59 p.m., at the same time as the explosion.
That was backed up by footage purportedly of two Islamic Jihad operatives admitting that their group had mistakenly fired a rocket from a cemetery.
“Islamic jihad causes deaths in hospitals,” said Hagari.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson offered the assessment hours after President Biden said as much at a Tel Aviv press conference citing “data that my Department of Defense has shown.” Telegram
“We want maximum transparency because we take any incident involving civilians very, very seriously,” he continued, stressing that the IDF “acted in accordance with international law” and did not bomb hospitals.
Some open-source intelligence analysts agree, citing limited shockwave damage and the small size of the area affected by the blast.
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“At this point, the preponderance of the evidence indicates that it was a Hamas or PIJ rocket that hit the area,” Blake Spendley, an open-source intelligence analyst at the Center for Naval Analysis, a Virginia think tank, told the Journal.
“Something like a short-range rocket would cause more fire,” he explained, referring to the weapons used by the Israeli air force.
“With something like JDAM [Joint Direct Action Munition] you’ll get a lot of explosive energy, and not as much energy wasted in heat or fire or light. There are several characteristics with the Palestinians killed in the attack that have led me to believe that there was more fire coming from the impact than just pure explosive energy.”
Watson said the NSC had analyzed “overhead images, intercepts and open source information” and would continue to gather intelligence on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital blast, which Gaza officials claim killed about 500 people.REUTERS
Spendley reportedly estimated that a more realistic death toll was about 50, rather than 500, but said a definitive conclusion would require post-mortem analysis of the victims and other forensic fieldwork that would not be possible in a war zone.
“It’s not definitive yet, but IF this is the extent of the damage then I would say an airstrike seems less likely than a rocket failure causing an explosion and fuel fire,” Justin Bronk, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, thinks tanks in London, write on X.
Biden appeared to agree that more investigations are needed to disprove Hamas’ claims as he spoke to international press bodies.
“Based on what I saw, it looks as if it was done by another team,” the president said. “But there are a lot of people out there who aren’t sure, so we have a lot — we have a lot to overcome.”
Suhaila Tarazi, Palestinian American director of the Episcopal Church-run hospital, said four staff members were injured in the explosion, and the facility was littered with broken glass and body parts on Wednesday, according to the report.
The worst attack on Israel in 50 years: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: The terrorist group Hamas wins Palestinian legislative elections.
2007: Hamas takes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launched a military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the city of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches its biggest attack on Israel in 50 years.
More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, more than 4,200 wounded and at least 100 taken hostage, with the death toll expected to rise after Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of militants into Israeli cities.
Hamas terrorists are seen taking women hostage and parading them through the streets in a gruesome video.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced “We are at war” and promised Hamas would pay an “unprecedented price.”
Gaza health officials reported at least 3,000 Palestinians killed and more than 12,500 injured.
Hosam Naoum, the Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem, on Wednesday reportedly stopped blaming Israel for the blast the day before and added that the building was not directly hit.
“We know the casualties are high,” he said, adding that thousands of evacuees have taken shelter at the facility in recent days while urging Biden to push for justice and peace.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
