US intel, European source put Gaza hospital death toll at dozens or
low hundreds
The US intelligence community believes that anywhere from 100-300
people were killed at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, US media reported
Thursday, and a European official put the toll at 50 or less,
countering claims that 10 times that number were killed in what is
increasingly recognized was a blast caused by a failed Islamic Jihad
rocket launch.
Hamas health authorities claimed that the hospital had been targeted
by Israeli airstrikes, and put the death toll at 500, an account that
was widely reported worldwide.
However, Israel has produced evidence showing that the blast was
caused by a failed rocket launch from Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic
Jihad terror group, an assessment endorsed by the US, which has said
it has its own data to this effect. The Arab world has largely
continued to blame Israel, with massive protests breaking out in
several regional capitals in the wake of the incident.
A US intelligence document presented by CNN Thursday said that there
was "only light structural damage at the hospital" and that Israel was
not responsible for the explosion.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-assessment-eu-diplomat-put-gaza-hospital-death-toll-at-dozens-or-low-hundreds/
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