Paris says Israel is not responsible for the explosion at Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza
According to French military intelligence DRM, the deadly explosion that rocked Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday evening was not the result of an Israeli rocket attack, but most likely a misfire of a Palestinian rocket with an explosive charge of about 5 kg.
“What we know is that it was not a missile sent by the Israelis. “But according to our ballistic elements, it is more likely a rocket fire that was redirected or suffered technical damage and whose parts hit the parking lot near the hospital,” an official told journalists from DRM on Friday.
Based on its findings about the explosion site, the DRM identified a hole, not a crater, measuring about one meter by 75 cm and 30 to 40 cm deep. “To achieve this effect, about five kilograms of explosives are required, in any case less than ten kilograms,” he emphasized.
In his opinion, the hypothesis of an Israeli bomb or missile is not possible, since the minimum load of this type of weapon is much higher. Such a machine would have formed a much larger crater, this official added. On the other hand, he estimates that a load of 5 kg is uniform for rockets purchased or manufactured by the Palestinians.
According to Palestinian officials, 471 people were killed in the explosion. Gaza’s health ministry blamed an Israeli airstrike, while Israel claimed it had “evidence” that Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian movement close to Hamas and also designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, was responsible becomes.
An unclassified US intelligence report also assumed that Israel was not responsible for the explosion.
The DRM does not normally share such information, but at the direction of President Emmanuel Macron, it has decided to publish its conclusions for transparency reasons.
The DRM could not name the exact origin of the rocket crash and did not blame any particular group. She also declined to estimate the death toll, but said it would likely be below 471 given the impact.