Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Fatal explosion in Gaza hospital result of failed launch by Islamic Jihad, IDF says

U.S. President Joe Biden said the blast was apparently cause by Israel’s foes

This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Sign up here to get Haaretz‘s free Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox.

The IDF spokesperson addressed reports that Israel struck a hospital in Gaza, killing over 500 people, and said that the hospital was hit by a failed missile launched by the Islamic Jihad.

According to the IDF spokesperson, the army’s assessment is based on “intelligence information from several sources.” The statement goes on to say that “from the analysis of the IDF’s operational systems, an enemy rocket barrage was launched towards Israel and passed in the vicinity of the hospital when it was hit.”

“Categorically do not strike any sensitive facilities – definitely not hospitals. very much aware of the presence of civilians,” IDF International Spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told CNN.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who arrived in Israel on Wednesday, said the blast at the hospital was apparently caused by Israel’s foes, according to Reuters. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh charged Hamas with “putting their command and control units inside hospitals.”

She added that the U.S. has “no confirmation” on who bears responsibility, shortly before Israel blamed a failed Islamic Jihad launch.

Five American C-17 cargo planes have delivered military assistance in the past 10 days, she added, with more deliveries to come.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version