Israel blames failed Islamic Jihad rocket for Gaza hospital catastrophe
IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Hamas knew "with absolute certainty that it was a rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad."
Israel said a failed rocket fired by Islamic Jihad hit a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday evening, killing scores of people.
The Hamas-run health ministry initially blamed Israeli airstrikes for hitting the Al-Ahli Hospital, claiming some 500 Palestinians had been killed.
On Wednesday morning, the IDF presented what it said was indisputable evidence that it was in fact a rocket fired by Islamic Jihad which caused the mass explosion.
IDF released videos showing rockets failing to enter Israel at the time of the explosion, while stressing that an Israeli airstrike would have left a big crater in the ground, which wasn’t the case.
IDF also released an intercepted an alleged phone conversation between Hamas members shortly after the explosion, in which they admit that Islamic Jihad’s rocket hit the hospital.
Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Hamas knew “with absolute certainty that it was a rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
“According to our intelligence, Hamas checked reports and understood it was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad misfire, then launched a global media campaign with inflated numbers of casualties. It is impossible to know what happened as quickly as Hamas claimed they knew. That should have been an initial warning sign,” he said.
Harari also stressed that the buildings surrounding the hospital were left undamaged, which was another sign that it hadn’t been hit by an Israeli airstrike.
Channel 12 later published a video allegedly showing the exact time rockets were fired from Gaza, with one of them falling right above the hospital in Gaza, causing the explosion.
Channel 12 said Prime Minister Netanyahu had been shown the video which he looked at carefully ahead of his meeting with President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu issued a statement on Tuesday evening as the story about the explosion went viral, saying: “The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF. Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children.”
Meanwhile, President Herzog lashed out at the international media for running Hamas’ version of the story on Tuesday evening, blaming Israel for the tragedy.
“Shame on the media who swallow the lies of Hamas and Islamic Jihad – broadcasting a 21st century blood libel around the globe. Shame on the vile terrorists in Gaza who willfully spill the blood of the innocent. Never before has the choice been clearer. Israel is standing against an enemy made of pure evil. If you stand for humanity – for the value of all human life – you stand with Israel,” Herzog said.
Islamic Jihad dismissed the evidence, saying: “Israel is spreading (contradicting) versions (of events). Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Ben-Dor said that the hospital houses weapons and that the explosion occurred from where these were launched, while the army says that the explosion was the result of a failed launch by the Islamic Jihad.”
Islamic Jihad and Hamas haven’t provided any evidence proving Israel was behind the explosion.
Despite the lack of evidence from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a number of riots and demonstrations broke out in the Middle East following the explosion and accusations against Israel, including in Jordan and Lebanon.
Hamas also called on Palestinians in the West Bank to attack Israelis in response to the explosion, while urging the “expulsion of the ambassadors of the Zionist entity in all Arab and Islamic capitals.”
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