Tel Aviv [Israel]: After an explosion that struck Gaza hospital on Tuesday and killed hundreds of people, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel Defense Forces operational systems have indicated that rockets were fired by terrorists in Gaza.
Netanyahu said that intelligence from several sources revealed that Islamic Jihad was responsible for the unsuccessful rocket launch.
“An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit,” he posted on social media platform X.
“Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza,” he added.
An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit.
Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 17, 2023
“The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF,” Netanyahu said in another post on X.
“Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children,” he added.
Confirming the same, the spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces posted on X, “From the analysis of the operational systems of the IDF, an enemy rocket barrage was carried out towards Israel, which passed through the vicinity of the hospital when it was hit.
According to intelligence information from several sources, the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is responsible for the failed shooting that hit the hospital.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, told CNN that the IDF “does not target hospitals.”
“We only target Hamas strongholds, arms depots, and terror targets,” he added.
Heinrich made his remarks after Palestinian sources said that initial estimates suggest an Israeli attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City resulted in 200 to 300 fatalities.
An Israeli airstrike on a hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday claimed the lives of hundreds of people, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, as reported by Reuters.
A Gaza civil defence chief stated on Al-Jazeera television that over 300 people were killed in the explosion at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital.
Initially, at least 500 deaths were reported, according to a source from the Gaza Health Ministry. The Hamas-run government is in charge of both departments, Reuters reported.
However, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), has stated that reports of a possible Israeli airstrike against a hospital in Gaza are still under review.
The initial investigation by the IDF shows that the explosion in the hospital in Gaza was caused by a failed Hamas rocket launch, as reported by the news organization i24NEWS.
According to local media reports, Hagari said he is still gathering information and will share more information as soon as it is available. He added that he is still ‘unsure’ of the cause of the explosion, which is said to have killed hundreds of people.
“There are a lot of airstrikes, a lot of failed rockets, and a lot of fake reports by Hamas,” he said as reported by The Times of Israel. As Israel continues to retaliate against Hamas, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that Hamas thought Israel would break, but “We will break Hamas,” reported The Times of Israel.
As Israel continues to retaliate against Hamas, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday last week said that Hamas thought Israel would break, but “We will break Hamas,” reported The Times of Israel.
During the weekly cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister along with ministers stood in silence for a minute and paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the deadly Hamas attack.
“Hamas thought we would break; we will break Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
He further stressed that Israel is working in unity and it conveys a clear message to Hamas and to the world.
“We are working around the clock as a team, with a united front,” he said.
“Our unity conveys a clear message to the people, the enemy, and to the world,” he added.
