A massive blast at a Gaza City hospital on Tuesday was caused by a misfired rocket launched by Islamic Jihad, says Israel who released evidence on Wednesday.
The revelation was confirmed by President Joe Biden who is in Israel meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Video and audio recordings (below) of Hamas discussing the misfired rocket are among evidence released by the IDF but it has done little to persuade neighboring Arab countries, whose leaders canceled a meeting with Biden. Hamas has again called for a day of rage in response to the explosion.
RAW FOOTAGE: A rocket aimed at Israel misfired and exploded at 18:59—the same moment a hospital was hit in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Kf5xJazSap
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2023
The videos were also corroborated by a live video shot at the time of the explosion by Al Jazeera Arab News Network. The video showed a missile barrage being launched from near the Al Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital. Seconds later the hospital can be seen engulfed in a huge explosion.
The most damming evidence that Islamic Jihad is responsible is audio of Hamas discussing the explosion:
In the hours immediately after the explosion, both American and European media outlets initially echoed Hamas statements blaming Israel for the explosion and massive loss of life. The news reporting pointed the finger at Israel without evidence and was quickly picked up by pro-Palestinian groups around the world. On Wednesday morning, many news outlets are retracting their earlier reporting.
The Israel Foreign Ministry released a video and graphic that it said proved Islamic Jihad “misfire hit Gaza hospital.”
“On October 17, at around 19:00, the PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) fired a missile salvo toward Israel,” the ministry said. “One of the missiles misfired, landing on the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, causing severe damage, killing at least several Palestinians and injuring many more. ”
“The IDF did not conduct any operations in the area at the time of impact,” the Foreign Ministry added.
The IDF said, “According to intelligence information, from several sources we have, the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is responsible for the failed shooting that hit the hospital.”
The army also told Fox News: “A hospital is a highly sensitive building and is not an IDF target.”
Hamas continues to accuse the the IDF of “the massacre at the Baptist Hospital”, calling it “a crime of genocide.”
The terror group called on Arab and Islamic countries to “intervene immediately,” and urged Palestinians in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) to attack Israeli forces to “avenge the massacre.”
Dozens of people stormed Israel’s embassy in Amman in the wake of the explosion at the hospital. The U.S. embassy in Lebanon was set ablaze.
Between 15 and 20 percent of all rockets launched by Gaza-based terror groups misfire and land inside Gaza.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice and wire services
