President Biden, who made a high-profile wartime visit to Israel today, said American intelligence showed that the deadly explosion that ripped through a hospital in Gaza yesterday was caused by Palestinian fighters.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in Tel Aviv.
American officials said that multiple strands of intelligence — including infrared satellite data — indicated that the blast had been caused by the launch of a rocket or a missile from Palestinian fighter positions within Gaza.
Palestinian officials blamed the explosion on an Israeli airstrike, an assertion that was disputed by the Israeli military, which said it had been caused by a malfunctioning rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an armed group allied with Hamas.
Neither side’s account has been independently verified, and the death toll remains unclear.
Persons:
Biden, ” Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu
Organizations:
Palestinian, Tel Aviv ., National Security Council, Hamas
Locations:
Israel, Gaza, Tel Aviv