‘High degree of confidence’ Israel didn’t strike Gaza hospital: Blair

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Ottawa has a “high degree of confidence” that Israel did not strike the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday after an independent review by the Canadian military, Defence Minister Bill Blair said in a statement late Saturday evening.

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Canada believes the more likely scenario is that the strike was caused by an “errant rocket” fired from the Gaza Strip, Blair’s statement said.

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The pronouncement from Ottawa came days after the United States said its own review found that Israel was not responsible for the hospital blast, which the Gaza Health Ministry said killed hundreds of people.

President Joe Biden said during a visit to Israel on Wednesday that he was confident the “other team” bore responsibility.

On Thursday, facing pressure to provide Canada’s position on the matter, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was taking “all necessary steps” to form its own understanding of what happened.

The Canadian Forces Intelligence Command conducted its own “review and analysis” at the prime minister’s request, Blair’s statement said.

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A statement from the Department of National Defence on Saturday evening said that the analysis was based on open source and classified reporting.

“This assessment is informed by an analysis of the blast damage to the hospital complex, including adjacent buildings and the area surrounding the hospital, as well as the flight pattern of the incoming munition,” the statement read.

Reporting from Canada’s allies corroborates the findings, the Defence Department added.

The defence minister promised the government would “continue to provide updates as new information becomes available,” and reiterated Canada’s “sincere condolences” to all who lost loved ones in the explosion.

In the wake of the blast on Oct. 17, Hamas had quickly blamed an Israeli military airstrike for the carnage. But Israel subsequently released images that it said proved it was caused by a misfire from Gaza.

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A senior French military official told The Associated Press on Friday that its own review of the intelligence also found Israel was not responsible, while the United Nations called for an independent investigation.

The latest conflict had begun 10 days earlier when Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel and conducted a series of brazen attacks on civilians.

Israel retaliated, raining airstrikes down on the Gaza Strip and putting the territory under siege. Its military is said to be preparing for a ground assault.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza in total. More than 1,400 in Israel have been killed, most of them slain in the surprise Oct. 7 attacks.

The Canadian government has deemed Hamas a terrorist entity since 2002.

— With files from The Associated Press.

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