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Here is how Reuters has summarised the key claim of the IDF in this briefing, writing:
A military spokesperson told journalists that there was no structural damage to buildings around the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital and no craters consistent with an air strike.
The spokesperson accused Hamas of inflating the number of casualties from the explosion and said it (Hamas) could not know as quickly as it claimed what caused the blast.
The questions at this IDF press briefing have now become quite wide ranging. Spokesperson Daniel Hagari has responded to one question with justification of Israel’s military action in the Gaza Strip, which is so far believed to have killed over 3,000 Palestinians. He said:
We have to win this information war with evidence, not with false uncredible statements. We have no other way. We must stay moral. We must stay according to the international law. We have no other way. Otherwise we won’t be a democratic liberal country. And this is what we’re fighting. It’s a democratic liberal country fighting a Hamas/Isis-controlled area with innocent civilians, Palestinians, that is using them as a human shield. We have to fight.
We cannot live with next to our borders a Hamas/Isis government that will threaten our civilians. And do massacres. Where they rape women. Beheaded the bodies. Kidnap babies. Do you understand that while we speak babies are being held in Gaza? Women, young girls, that went to a music festival are being held in Gaza. Old people, some of them were in the Holocaust, are held now in Gaza. How can you take old people? How can you take babies?
This is what we fighting, and now they’re going to show videos of these hijacks. They want to terrorise the families. We will not be terrorised. We have our values, we know what we are fighting for. We are fighting for our country.
Here is a transcription of the key part of the case that the Israeli ministry is presenting to say that it did not strike the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital. Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said:
First, we confirmed that there was no IDF fire by land, sea or air that hit the hospital.
Second, our radar system tracked rockets fired by terrorists from within Gaza at the time of the explosion. I will show you the trajectory analysis from the barrage of rockets confirms that the rockets were fired close proximity to the hospital.
In addition there are two independent videos which show the failure of the rocket launch and the continued continuation of rocket flight towards the ground with in the Gaza Strip falling in the hospital compound.
Third, we have intelligence, some that will be shared here, of communication between terrorists talking about rockets misfiring. The terrorists realise that the rocket has misfired and made specific reference to the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital.
It is Daniel Hagari doing this press briefing, by the way. “The information war is a hard war” to win he concedes.
Journalists questioning the Israeli military spokesperson have asked about the credibility of the IDF explanation, with one saying “frankly, the IDF has a less-than-perfect track record with the issue of credibility”
In response, the spokesperson said: “In the past, we ourselves were too fast to go to the conclusion. This is why, this event, we took the time, it took us more than five hours. We wanted to double check everything, make sure we’re credible.”
The Israeli military spokesperson has been critical of media reporting of the explosion at the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital, saying outlets have spread Hamas lies, and that some of those reports and headlines have still not been corrected.
He said:
I understand the desire to break news, but I hope you will all agree that accuracy and credible information comes first. The IDF acts in accordance with international law. In conclusion, this incident shows how allegations in this case false and baseless allegations made by terrorists against Israel can spread and flame tension in the region.
He specifically says that other countries will be looking to the BBC to see what it reports.
On how a rocket fired from Gaza could cause so much damage he said:
The existence of propellant made a larger explosion than the warhead itself. And this caused the damage, the explosions that we see of the burning cars here.
The Israeli military has claimed that about 450 Palestinian rockets have fallen short of their targets since 7 October when fired at Israel from within the Gaza Strip, and that the hospital blast has been caused by an example of this. The IDF is claiming that the rocket was fired from behind the hospital, and that it has intercepted a call with Palestinians discussing the launch failure.
More details soon …
The Israeli military spokesperson has said that claims Israel struck the hospital are “false and baseless”.
The Israeli military is giving a briefing on the Gaza hospital blast. It has said there was no direct IDF hit on the hospital.
More details soon …
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has called for a “through investigation” into the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital hospital blast, which is believed to have killed between 300 and 500 people last night.
On social media, he posted:
I am horrified by the images we are receiving of the explosion in a hospital in Gaza. Innocents were injured and killed. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims. It is important that this incident is investigated very carefully.