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Netanyahu accuses ‘barbaric terrorists’ of responsibility for death at al-Ahli hospital as Pres. Herzog slams media for ‘blood libel’ against Israel
Israel has strongly denied that it was responsible for the explosion at a packed hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday, instead saying that a failed missile launch by Islamic Jihad was responsible for the carnage.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry that hundreds of people were killed in what it described as an Israeli airstrike. Photos from Al-Ahli Hospital showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass, and body parts scattered across the area. The ministry said at least 500 people had been killed.
Israeli civilian and military leaders were quick to deny responsibility, with videos of an alleged Islamic Jihad missile launch being widely disseminated on social media
According to various IDF spokespeople, the army’s assessment is based on “Intelligence information from several sources.” The statement goes on to say that “from the analysis of the IDF’s operational systems, an enemy rocket barrage was launched towards Israel and passed in the vicinity of the hospital when it was hit.”
“Categorically we do not strike any sensitive facilities - definitely not hospitals. Very much aware of the presence of civilians,” IDF International Spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told CNN.
The U.S. Department of Defense declined to address the mass casualty event at the Gaza hospital, though Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh charged Hamas with “putting their command and control units inside hospitals.”
She added that the U.S. has “no confirmation” on who bears responsibility, shortly before Israel blamed a failed Islamic Jihad launch.
Five American C-17 cargo planes have delivered military assistance in the past 10 days, she added, with more deliveries to come.
According to Reuters, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman denies Israeli allegations that the militant group is responsible for the Gaza hospital strike.
Reuters also reported that Israel’s Netanyahu says ‘barbaric terrorists’ in Gaza attacked Gaza hospital, not the IDF.
Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for hundreds of people, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.
In the Strip’s south, continued strikes killed dozens of civilians and at least one senior Hamas figure Tuesday in attacks it says are targeted at militants. U.S. officials worked to convince Israel to allow the delivery of supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups, and hospitals after days of failed hopes for an opening in the siege.
More than 1 million Palestinians have fled their homes – roughly half of Gaza’s population – and 60% are now in the approximately 14-kilometer (8-mile) long area south of the evacuation zone, the UN said. Aid workers warned that the territory was near complete collapse. Hospitals were on the verge of losing electricity, threatening the lives of thousands of patients, and hundreds of thousands of people searched for bread and water.
With Israel barring entry of water, fuel, and food into Gaza since Hamas’ brutal attack last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken secured an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the creation of a mechanism for delivering aid to the territory’s 2.3 million people. U.S. officials said the gain might appear modest, but stressed that it was a significant step forward.
U.S. President Joe Biden prepared to head to the region as he and other world leaders tried to prevent the war from sparking a broader regional conflict. Violence flared Tuesday along Israel’s border with Lebanon, where Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants operate.
Richard Hecht, a spokesperson for the Israeli army said in a statement “We are preparing for the next stages of war … We haven’t said what they will be. Everybody’s talking about a ground offensive. It might be something different.”
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which owned and operated the Al-Ahli Hospital where hundreds were killed in a mass casualty event, condemned the “atrocious attack … in the strongest terms.”
“Initial reports suggest the loss of countless lives, a manifestation of what can only be described as a crime against humanity. Hospitals, by the tenets of international humanitarian law, are sanctuaries, yet this assault has transgressed those sacred boundaries,” said the diocese about Gaza’s only independent, Christian-led medical facility.
“Regrettably, Gaza remains bereft of safe havens. We assert unequivocally that this is deserving of international condemnation and retribution. An urgent appeal resonates for the international community to fulfill its duty in protecting civilians and ensuring that such inhumane horrific acts are not replicated,” the diocese added.
Israel sealed off Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in some 200 taken captive into Gaza. Hamas militants in Gaza have launched rockets every day since, aiming at cities across Israel.
Israeli strikes on Gaza have 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.
