American officers say they’ve a number of strands of intelligence — together with infrared satellite tv for pc information — indicating that the lethal blast at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday was brought on by Palestinian fighters.
The intelligence contains satellite tv for pc and different infrared information displaying a launch of a rocket or missile from Palestinian fighter positions inside Gaza. American intelligence companies have additionally analyzed open-source video of the launch displaying that it didn’t come from the path of Israeli navy positions, the officers stated. Israeli officers have additionally offered the US with intercepts of Hamas officers saying the strike got here from forces aligned with Palestinian militant teams.
“Whereas we proceed to gather info, our present evaluation, primarily based on evaluation of overhead imagery, intercepts and open-source info, is that Israel is just not liable for the explosion on the hospital in Gaza yesterday,” stated Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the Nationwide Safety Council.
Different U.S. officers, who spoke on situation of anonymity to debate the delicate info, cautioned that the evaluation was preliminary and that they had been persevering with to gather and analyze proof. A number of officers stated the proof gathered up to now refutes claims that Israeli forces had been liable for the blast and was robust sufficient for President Biden to make feedback supporting Israel’s account of occasions.
“Primarily based on what I’ve seen, it seems as if it was executed by the opposite workforce, not you,” Mr. Biden informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel throughout a joint look.
A senior Protection Division official stated primarily based on the launch information collected by infrared sensors that the US is “pretty assured” the launch didn’t come from Israeli forces.
On Tuesday, Israeli officers offered American intelligence companies intercepted communications between Hamas members that indicated the rocket was fired by their aspect. Israeli officers have stated the rocket was fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a bunch aligned with Hamas.
U.S. officers spent the evening analyzing these intercepts together with the open-source information, movies captured by journalists and different that present a rocket flying within the neighborhood of the hospital.
The US repeatedly makes use of infrared satellite tv for pc assortment to research launches. The warning system was one of many first items of intelligence that confirmed {that a} Malaysia Airways aircraft was shot down by Russian forces over Ukraine in 2014.
