"Barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza": IDF Spokesperson on hospital blast
Oct 18, 2023
Tel Aviv [Israel], October 18 : On the attack at a hospital in Gaza, the spokesperson of Israel Defence Forces (IDF), RAdm. Daniel Hagari confirmed that an analysis by the IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to al-Ahli Hospital there.
In a video message posted on social media platform X earlier today, Hagari said, "I can confirm that an analysis by the IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, at the time it was hit."
He said that as per intelligence sources, the Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza.
"Intelligence from a few sources indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza, This is the responsibility of Islamic Jihad that killed innocents in the hospital in Gaza," he added.
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.
"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."
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.
