US intelligence claims that the Israel Defense Forces are not to blame for the attack on Al-Ahly hospital in the Gaza Strip – the rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip and fell near the hospital, rather than hitting it, and the number of casualties is overstated.
Hamas blamed Israel for the rocket attack on the hospital, saying 500 people were killed. US and European intelligence believes that Israel did not strike, and the number of victims is estimated at several dozen. writes Newsweek edition October 18. Agencies refer to sources, intercepted data, and available images.
A senior U.S. Air Force officer involved in the matter told Newsweek that neither U.S. nor Israeli intelligence knows the exact death toll from the explosion near the hospital, but believes the death toll is “several dozen at most.” He emphasized:
“I’m not saying this isn’t a tragedy, but it’s another case of massive exaggeration and outright lies on the part of Hamas.”
The intelligence agency of one of the European countries came to a similar conclusion, reports AFP, citing an anonymous source:
“The number of victims is not 200, much less 500, but rather several dozen, probably a number between 10 and 50.”
The department believes that the blow was probably not carried out by Israel and notes that the Al-Ahly hospital building was not destroyed as a result of the explosion.
We remind you that October 17 on the hospital grounds A rocket exploded in Al-Ahli. According to Hamas, 500 people were killed and another three hundred were injured. Hamas blamed Israel for the strike. Many Muslim countries also condemned Israel and held protests.
Tel Aviv declares that the explosion was caused by an off-course missile fired by the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad. The Israeli army presented photographs and videos that are intended to prove its case.
US President Joe Biden, during his short visit to Israel on October 18, supported the Israeli view that Palestinian terrorists themselves were to blame for the rocket attack on the hospital. At the same time, the American leader referred to data he received from the Pentagon, writes dw.
Meanwhile, Israel demands an apology from the UN for spreading false accusations against Hamas, writes publication of “News of Israel”. Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Gilad Erdan, demanded an apology from both the international organization and personally from its Secretary General Antonio Guterres for disseminating the Hamas version of the hospital bombing in Gaza, and after the IDF had released information about the involvement of Islamic Jihad in this crime. This became known on October 19. Erdan said:
“Where was the United Nations just a week ago when Hamas deliberately and targetedly targeted the Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon?! You choose to believe the lies spread by child killers – what does that say about you? Shame! Israel demands an apology! Deadly Hamas attack , which killed innocent Israelis, was committed less than two weeks ago, and you have already forgotten everything!”
He recalled that the UN Secretary General, ignoring the Israeli version, condemned the Jewish state for the hospital explosion and was indignant:
“You choose to believe the lies of terrorists rather than the facts presented by Israel. Has the Secretary General forgotten his duty to check the facts? Or are there different rules when it comes to Israel? I demand that the Secretary General publicly apologize!”
The diplomat recalled that any information from the Gaza Strip requires verification, since it represents only “what Hamas wants everyone to hear.” The so-called “official” sources” in the Gaza Strip, including medical ones, broadcast what Hamas orders them. “And if they refuse to do this, Hamas will simply kill them,” Erdan emphasized and complained:
“What does it say about you, gathered here in the Security Council, if you choose to blindly believe what the killers of children say? The Security Council has become the mouthpiece of Hamas and is implementing its scenario aimed at the destruction of Israel. The Security Council, instead of confronting killers, puts pressure on Israel, tying its hands in the war on terror.”
Erdan, with indignation and accusation, added several more questions addressed to the Security Council:
“Where was the Security Council when Hamas invested billions of dollars, channeled by the international community under the guise of concern for Gaza, into the infrastructure of terror? Where was the Security Council in the last 17 years, when Hamas continuously terrorized Israeli citizens and fired rockets at civilians? Where was everything “United Nations, when did all this happen? You knew everything, but you preferred to remain silent.”
At the end of his speech, the permanent representative explained that the war will continue until all goals are achieved, until Hamas is destroyed and all those abducted return home.
It remains to be added that on October 18, the United States blocked a draft UN Security Council resolution on a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip. The draft contained a demand for Israel to stop military operations against terrorists and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to all areas of the sector. The resolution was supported by 12 states, including two permanent members of the Security Council – France and China. The US Permanent Representative vetoed it.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the draft resolution did not say a word about Israel’s right to self-defense. Stressing that Brazil’s proposal is unacceptable to American diplomacy, she stated her readiness, together with other UN Security Council member states, “to make efforts to overcome the crisis and ensure the safety of civilians, including media workers, humanitarian workers and UN representatives.”
Earlier, the IDF press service released videos taken at the scene of the explosion in the Gaza Strip. The footage shows that the main damage was caused not to the hospital building, but to the parking lot next to it. UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wenneslandwho is in Qatar, spoke at a meeting of the Security Council via video link.Apparently he was not satisfied with the evidence provided by the IDF – he called for a deep and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the explosion: “The causes of the tragedy remain unclear, as does who is responsible for it.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanding that Palestinian terrorist organizations bear responsibility for the hospital explosion in the Gaza Strip. Cohen added that he expects the UN chief to harshly condemn the terrorists. Previously, Guterres blamed Israel for the explosion.
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