Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the government, the media and supporters of the Palestinian cause who he said blamed Israel “unfairly” for Tuesday’s explosion outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip.
US officials said Wednesday that their analysis showed that the Jewish state was not responsible for the explosion outside Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital.
However, the statement came almost exactly 24 hours after initial reports by various media outlets, citing the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, claimed Israeli airstrikes had killed hundreds of people at the facility – sparking outrage across the Middle East and elsewhere.
“This is what Israel is against,” Schumer (D-NY) told representatives of the Jewish Democratic Council of America during a Zoom call. “Israel did not issue a statement immediately because they are checking. They want the truth. Hamas immediately said, ‘Oh, that [Israel Defense Force] do it.’ They lie through their teeth!”
On zoom with Jewish Dems, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the Gaza hospital explosion: “For six hours, the world unfairly blamed Israel. Now the word is out. I think we all have an obligation to get that truth out.” pic.twitter.com/0fBLZ6uP9d
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) October 18, 2023
“For six hours, the world blamed Israel, unfairly,” Schumer added. “Now the word is out. And I think we all have an obligation to get that truth out.”
Schumer added that he “regrets the loss of any life, any innocent life” in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Images of the blast site Wednesday morning showed a damaged parking lot, although the hospital itself appeared intact.
Press coverage: Photo of the Al-Muhammadani hospital after the bombing of the Israeli army. pic.twitter.com/XhYKa9Sk7m
— شبكة قدس الشبابرية (@qudsn) October 18, 2023
Palestinians inspect the site of an explosion at al-Ahli hospital, in Gaza City.AP An explosion hit a hospital in war-torn Gaza killing hundreds of people late on October 17.AFP via Getty Images
Hamas claimed up to 500 people were killed in the blast, a count that has not been independently verified.
The IDF has published audio intercepted by members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad suggesting the explosion was the result of a misfired rocket.
Islamic Jihad is the second largest terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.
“They say this is Islamic Jihad,” one terrorist said in the clip, according to an IDF translation. “Looks like it’s from us, yeah.”
During the discussion, the terrorists suspected that the missile remnants were “local shrapnel, and not Israeli shrapnel,” according to the translation.
IDF spokesman Brig. General Daniel Hagari claimed that the Islamic Jihad rocket launched at 6:50 pm local time failed in flight and caused the explosion, which he said occurred at 6:59 pm local time.
“According to our intelligence, Hamas checked the report, and understood that it was an Islamic Jihad rocket [that] made a mistake and decided to launch a global media campaign to hide what happened,” said Hagari.
Initial reports of Israeli airstrikes sparked protests in cities including New York and Berlin. Riots also broke out in the Middle Eastern cities of Amman, Baghdad, Beirut, Cairo, Doha and Istanbul.
While we continue to gather information, our current assessment, based on analysis of the above imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for yesterday’s hospital explosion in Gaza.
— Adrienne Watson (@NSC_Spox) October 18, 2023
President Biden became the first president to visit Israel in the middle of the war. AP
Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that. @POTUS this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate.
Your war and destruction just approach has opened my eyes and many… https://t.co/mZYoifT7bj
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) October 17, 2023
Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) also ripped Israel following the initial report.
“Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that. @POTUS this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help defuse,” Tlaib wrote on X Tuesday.
“Bombing hospitals is one of the worst war crimes. The IDF reportedly blew up one of the few places the wounded and wounded could get medical attention and protection during the war was horrific. @POTUS needs to call for an immediate ceasefire to end this slaughter,” Omar wrote an hour later.
Both posts were still posted as of Wednesday afternoon.
Chuck Schumer said the Senate expects an additional aid package request from the White House that includes support for Israel and Ukraine later this week.Getty Images
A spokeswoman for Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Omar and Tlaib’s post.
The October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel killed more than 1,400 people, including 30 Americans.
Another 13 are unknown and some are held hostage by Hamas.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
