Israel denies responsibility for Gaza hospital explosion

Israel and Hamas are locked in claim and counterclaim about who is responsible for the devastating blast at a hospital in Gaza last night, resulting in what could be one of the worst single losses of Palestinian life in the history of the region.

Hamas claimed 500 are dead, although that number is unverified. Both patients and civilians were sheltering in the grounds of the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City in the hope of escaping Israel’s aerial bombardment of the enclave. 

Hamas, Palestinian authorities and many other countries in the region have blamed the explosion on an Israeli air strike, with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank not Gaza, calling it an unforgivable crime and declaring three days of mourning. 

But Israel is furiously denying any involvement and says it has proof that the blast was caused by a misfired rocket by the militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The PIJ is the second largest militant group in the Gaza Strip and – while also backed by Iran – operates independently from Hamas, with its own rocket arsenal. 

According to IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, at 18:59 on Tuesday, a barrage of around 10 rockets was fired by PiJ from a nearby cemetery and, at the same time, there were reports of an explosion at the hospital in Gaza City. Hagari also insisted that aerial footage of the destruction at the hospital points to a fireball caused by the rocket’s exploding fuel, not to the impact of an Israeli munition. Crucially, there is no evidence of a crater – the damage that would be caused by an Israeli bomb.

With Gaza an active war zone, an independent investigation certainly won’t happen for the foreseeable future. But, regardless of who is responsible, the incident represents a dangerous turn in the war and has induced global shock. 

EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen called the Al Ahli explosion a “senseless tragedy” while the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, speaking from Beijing in light of the incident, called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, to ease the “epic suffering”.

The furious response to the tragedy could increase the risk of the conflict spiralling into a wider war. All around the region – in Lebanon, Jordan, Libya and Iran – protestors have taken to the streets, blaming Israel for the explosion. 

All of this makes for a highly difficult backdrop for Joe Biden who is in Israel today. After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US president was due to head on to Jordan where he would have held talks with King Abdullah of Jordan, President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt and Abbas. This plan has been scuppered. Late last night, Abbas pulled out of the meeting and Jordan’s foreign minister, who also blamed Israel for the hospital blast, said the meeting could only be held when the parties could agree to end the “war and the massacres against Palestinians”. 

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