2023-10-21 06:20:20
According to Paris, Israel is not responsible for the explosion at Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza
According to the French Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM), the deadly explosion which hit Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday evening was not the result of an Israeli missile strike, but very likely of a misfire of a Palestinian rocket carrying an explosive charge of approximately 5 kg.
“What we know is that this is not a missile sent by the Israelis. But according to our ballistic elements, it would rather be a rocket attack which was diverted or which suffered technical damage and elements of which hit the parking lot near the hospital”a DRM official told journalists on Friday.
Based on its understanding of the explosion site, the DRM identified a hole, not a crater, approximately one meter by 75 cm, and 30 to 40 cm deep. “It takes about five kilos of explosives to produce this effect, certainly less than 10 kg”he insisted.
The hypothesis of an Israeli bomb or missile is not possible according to him, because the minimum load of this type of weapon is much higher. A machine of this kind would have formed a much larger crater, added this official. On the other hand, he estimates that a load of 5 kg is consistent for rockets acquired or manufactured by the Palestinians.
Palestinian officials said 471 people were killed in the explosion. Gaza’s health ministry blamed an Israeli airstrike, while Israel claimed it had “evidence” of the responsibility of Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian movement close to Hamas and classified like it as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel.
An unclassified US intelligence report also believed that Israel was not responsible for the explosion.
The DRM does not usually communicate such information, but on the instructions of President Emmanuel Macron, it decided to make its conclusions public for the sake of transparency.
The DRM could not give the exact starting point of the failed rocket and did not place blame on any specific group. She also declined to estimate the death toll, but said it would likely be lower than 471 given the impact.
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