Biden Backs Israel’s Claim That It Didn’t Bomb Gaza Hospital

 

The president told Netanyahu: 'it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you'

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onOctober 18, 2023CategoriesNewsTagsIsrael

President Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday and backed Israel’s claim that it did not bomb the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday, saying it appeared the “other team” was responsible.

“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “But there’s a lot of people out there not sure.”

Israel claims the blast at the hospital was caused by an errant rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), while Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike caused the explosion. Both PIJ and Hamas have strongly denied the Israeli claim.

Later, Biden was asked how he came to that conclusion and claimed it was based on “data I was shown by my Defense Department.”

Initial reports of the hospital blast said 500 people were killed. Gaza authorities on Wednesday said the death toll was 471. Suhaila Tarazi, director of the Ahli Arab Hospital, said the death toll was in the “hundreds” but could not confirm about 500 people were killed. “It could be more, it could be less. There are so many body parts that no one can really tell,” she told AP. “We are all losers in this war. And it must end.”

Photos of the aftermath show the hospital was not leveled by the strike, and the high death toll is attributed to the fact that thousands of Palestinians sought refuge there and were sleeping in the courtyards. Israel had ordered the evacuation of Gaza City and other areas of north Gaza, which is home to 1.1 million Palestinians.

The American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, a non-profit that raises funds for the Ahli Arab Hospital, described the cause of the blast as a “direct airstrike hit” and said hundreds were killed but did not attribute blame. A few days earlier, the AFEDJ said in a press release that the hospital was hit by an “Israeli rocket attack” on October 14.

https://news.antiwar.com/2023/10/18/biden-backs-israels-claim-that-it-didnt-bomb-gaza-hospital/