(Ottawa) Israel is “delighted” that Canada joins the United States and France in believing that an explosion at a hospital in Gaza City last week was caused by an errant rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, Israel’s ambassador to Ottawa said on Sunday.
“The loss of life at al-Ahli Arab Hospital is a tragedy that should horrify every human being and is reminiscent of the dual war crimes against Palestinians and Israelis committed by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza “, declared Iddo Moed, in a press release.
The rocket fired at the hospital on October 17 has become a new point of controversy in the war between Israel and Hamas, with both sides blaming each other for the tragedy.
Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair released a statement Saturday evening saying an independent analysis by the Canadian Forces gives the government a “high degree of confidence” that the rocket did not come from Israel.
Canada has been slower than some of its allies to reach this conclusion. During a visit to Tel Aviv on October 18, US President Joe Biden said US defense intelligence showed the rocket came from Gaza. France claimed its army had reached the same conclusion on October 20.
On October 17, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked Minister Blair to instruct the Canadian military to conduct its own assessment. On October 19, he said Canada had seen “preliminary evidence” but would take “the time necessary to review it carefully” and would work with its allies to reach a firm conclusion.
The Canadian military assessment released its first report on Saturday. Both Mr Blair and Mr Trudeau were briefed on the findings, before Mr Blair made the report’s findings public, just before 10 p.m.
Canada has not yet assigned specific responsibility for the origin of the rocket. Mr. Moed maintained that he believed that further analysis by Canada would also conclude that the rocket was fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The PIJ is the second largest armed group in Gaza, whose sole objective is a military victory over Israel in order to establish an Islamic state across all of Israel, as well as the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel blames the PIJ for the rocket, and U.S. officials told the New York Times that their preliminary evidence also points the finger at the PIJ.
“As Canada provides further updates, Israel is assured that further findings by the Israel Defense Forces, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad culpability, will be identified by Canada as the source of this war crime” , said Mr. Moed.