'Have clear-cut evidence it was Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket': Israel's envoy to India on Gaza hospital attack

Israel’s envoy to India Naor Gilon on Wednesday said that Israel has clear-cut evidence that it was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that attacked Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, killing at least 500 people.

#WATCH | Israel's envoy to India, Naor Gilon says, "Al Ahli Hospital was hit by a rocket of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad...They tried to hit our children, but on the way hit their own children...It's really a pity that many around the world are cooperating with them. In our… pic.twitter.com/WgHia0zWEt

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2023

In a video message, Gilon said, “Al Ahli Hospital was hit by a rocket of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad…They tried to hit our children, but on the way hit their own children…It’s really a pity that many around the world are cooperating with them. In our technological world, everything is documented. We have clear-cut evidence that it was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket.” Gilon said that the Palestinian terrorists and their allies immediately take out their victim cards and after cowardly murdering, abducting and abusing defenceless Israeli citizens, they are afraid to confront the IDF. “They are trying to create international pressure to prevent us from taking action. But nothing will prevent us from making sure that these murderers will not be able to repeat their atrocities…Come out of the tunnels and fight us,” added Gilon. On Tuesday, a massive blast rocked a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing at least 500 people. Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military blamed a rocket misfired by other Palestinian militants. The explosion at the al-Ahli Hospital left gruesome scenes. A video posted by The Associated Press showed fire engulfing the building and the hospital grounds strewn with torn bodies, many of them young children. The grass around them was strewn with blankets, school backpacks and other belongings. The bloodshed unfolded as the US tried to convince Israel to allow the delivery of supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals in the tiny Gaza Strip, which has been under a complete siege since Hamas’ deadly rampage in southern Israel last week. Hundreds of thousands of increasingly desperate people were searching for bread and water. Hamas called Tuesday’s hospital blast “a horrific massacre,” saying it was caused by an Israeli strike. The Israeli military blamed Islamic Jihad, a smaller, more radical Palestinian militant group that often works with Hamas. The military said Islamic Jihad militants had fired a barrage of rockets near the hospital and that “intelligence from multiple sources” indicated the group was responsible. In a briefing with reporters, the chief army spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the army determined there were no air force, ground or naval attacks in the area at the time of the blast. He said radar detected outgoing rocket fire at the same moment, and intercepted communications between militant groups indicated that Islamic Jihad fired the rockets. Hagari also shared aerial footage collected by a military drone that showed a blast that he said was inconsistent with Israeli weaponry. He said the explosion occurred in the building’s parking lot. Since the war began, the military said in a statement that roughly 450 rockets fired at Israel by militant groups had landed in Gaza, “endangering and harming the lives of Gazan residents.” Islamic Jihad dismissed those claims, accusing Israel of “trying hard to evade responsibility for the brutal massacre it committed.” The group pointed to Israel’s order that Al-Ahli be evacuated and its previous bombing of the hospital complex as proof that the hospital was an Israeli target. It also said the scale of the explosion, the angle of the bomb’s fall and the extent of the destruction all pointed to Israel. Hundreds of Palestinians had taken refuge in al-Ahli and other hospitals in Gaza City in past days, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip. With inputs from agencies