Israeli military claims strikes on Gaza hospital targeted Hamas camera without giving evidence
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: A deadly Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital that killed 20 people, including five journalists, was targeting what the military believed was a Hamas surveillance camera, as well as people identified as militants, the Israeli military said Tuesday.
The military issued the statement as part of its initial inquiry into the attack, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “tragic mishap.”
The military said the back-to-back strikes on southern Gaza’s largest hospital were ordered because soldiers believed militants were using the camera to observe Israeli forces and because Israel has long believed Hamas and other militant groups are present at hospitals, though Israeli officials rarely provide evidence to support that claim.
The military’s chief of general staff acknowledged several “gaps” in the investigation so far, including the kind of ammunition used to take out the camera.
