By Ishaya Ibrahim
Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has claimed that Hamas rocket was responsible for death of over 500 civilians at Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, on Tuesday.
The airstrike was one of the deadliest since the outbreak of the war which followed Hamas killing of some 1,000 Jews and abduction of many others in an October 7 surprise attack.
In retaliation, Israel has launched a relentless airstrikes on Gaza with the aim of reducing the world’s most densely populated city to rubble.
The death of over 500 civilians in the hospital which is managed by Episcopal Church in Jerusalem, was initially blamed on Israel airstrikes. But Netanyahu posted on his X handle that Hamas was responsible for the erroneous blast.
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He said via his X handle: “The barbarian terrorists in Gaza are the ones who attacked the hospital in Gaza, not the IDF. He who brutally murdered our children, also murders his children.”
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF), also denied responsibility for the bombing, saying military intelligence showed the hospital was hit by a failed rocket launch by Hamas.
The IDF, on its X handle @IDF, posted: RAW FOOTAGE: A rocket aimed at Israel misfired and exploded at 18:59—the same moment a hospital was hit in Gaza.”
IDF also claimed it intercepted a phone conversation between Hamas operatives which showed the rocket was from them.
U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was saddened by the hospital blast.
He said: “I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted. Immediately upon hearing this news, I spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and have directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened. The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy.”