Palestinian envoy to UN counters Israeli claims on Hamas behind attack on Gaza Hospital

Tel Aviv [Israel], October 18 (ANI): Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour on Wednesday countered the Israeli Prime Minister's claim that Hamas was behind the attack on a Hospital in Gaza and said that “He is a liar”.

Palestinian envoy claimed that the Israeli forces hit the hospital speculating the presence of Hamas base around the premises.

"He is a liar. His digital spokesperson tweeted that Israel did the hit thinking that there was a base for Hamas around this hospital, and then he deleted that tweet. We have a copy of that tweet... Now they changed the story to try to blame the Palestinians.”

He said further, “The Israeli spokesperson of the Army made a statement in which he said evacuate the hospitals...Their intention is to evacuate or hospitals will be hit and they are responsible for that crime and they cannot fabricate stories to deal with it."

Mansour in his statement held Israel accountable for the attack and demanded for immediate ceasefire.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that intelligence from several sources revealed that Islamic Jihad was responsible for the unsuccessful rocket launch.

"An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit," he posted on social media platform X.

"Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza," he added.

"The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF," Netanyahu said in another post on X. "Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children," he added.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, told CNN that the IDF "does not target hospitals."

"We only target Hamas strongholds, arms depots, and terror targets," he added.

Heinrich made his remarks after Palestinian sources claimed that initial estimates suggest an Israeli attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City resulted in 200 to 300 fatalities.

A Gaza civil defence chief stated on Al-Jazeera television that over 300 people were killed in the explosion at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital. (ANI)