The assessment is “based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information,” said a National Security Council spokesperson.
The White House said Wednesday that a current intelligence assessment shows Israel was “not responsible” for the explosion at a Gaza hospital, but that information was still being collected.
The assessment is “based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Wednesday in a social media post, following President Joe Biden’s comment to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you.”
There have been conflicting claims of who was responsible for the hospital blast. Officials in Gaza quickly blamed an Israeli airstrike. Israel denied it was involved and released a flurry of video, audio and other information that it said showed the blast was instead due to a missile misfire by Islamic Jihad, another militant group operating in Gaza. The Islamic Jihad dismissed that claim.
The Associated Press has not independently verified any of the claims or evidence released by the parties.
Biden said there were “a lot of people out there” who weren’t sure what caused the blast, which sparked protests throughout the Middle East. He later said he made the assertion based off “data from my Defense Department.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
TEL AVIV, Israel — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Israel had agreed to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing into Gaza from Egypt, with the understanding it would be subject to inspections and that it should go to civilians and not Hamas militants.
In remarks from Tel Aviv where the president had gone to show support for Israel following a brutal and deadly Oct. 7 attack that killed roughly 1,400 people, Biden cautioned the nation against all-consuming rage.
“I understand. Many Americans understand,” Biden said, likening the attack to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. that killed nearly 3,000 people. “You can’t look at what has happened here … and not scream out for justice. While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it.”
Israel had cut off the flow of food, fuel and water to the Gaza Strip after the attack. Mediators have been struggling to break a deadlock over providing supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals. An explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital compounded the suffering.
Shortly after Biden’s remarks, Israel confirmed food, water and medicine would begin to flow, though the timing wasn’t immediately clear.
There were conflicting claims of who was responsible for the hospital blast. Officials in Gaza quickly blamed an Israeli airstrike. Israel denied it was involved and released a flurry of video, audio and other information that it said showed the blast was instead due to a missile misfire by Islamic Jihad, another militant group operating in Gaza.
