Federal government isn’t saying who it thinks was behind Gaza hospital blast

The federal Liberal government dodged questions Wednesday about who Ottawa believes is responsible for the Gaza hospital blast that may have killed or maimed hundreds of people in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas has blamed an Israeli airstrike for the blast at the Ahli Arab Hospital, an Anglican Church-run facility in Gaza City.

The Israeli military has said a misfired rocket launched by other Palestinian militants was behind the explosion.

Images gathered by BBC News show that the hospital is still standing after the blast but there are blown-out windows, a small crater in the pavement near the site and burned-out vehicles and overturned cars nearby.

A BBC reporter on the scene said relief workers spent the morning gathering body parts of the deceased.

There are conflicting reports about just how many people died in the blast.

Speaking during a wartime visit to Israel Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said data from his defence department showed that the explosion likely was not caused by an Israeli airstrike.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson followed up later with a post on social media saying that an analysis of “overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information” showed Israel was not behind the attack.

The U.S. “continues to collect evidence,” the spokesperson said.

“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In question period in the House of Commons Wednesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asked if the government accepts Biden’s statement about the cause of the hospital blast.

“Does he agree that the offending missile originated with terrorists in Gaza?” Poilievre asked of Trudeau, who was not in the Commons.

“Our government has been unequivocal in condemning the terrorist attacks of Hamas against Israeli citizens. We are also adamant that attacks on civilians are wrong. We call on all parties to observe international law. Our hearts go out to the innocent Palestinian victims that have died as a result of this attack,” Government House Leader Karina Gould said.

Gould did not acknowledge Biden’s comments about “the other team” being responsible.

Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, the party’s deputy leader, then asked whether “the relationship with our closest allies, our Five Eyes partners, is so damaged” that the U.S. has not shared its preliminary findings about the blast with Canada.

“The situation in Gaza is a tragedy. The loss of Palestinian lives is absolutely horrifying. This is an unthinkable act and it’s imperative that innocent Palestinians be protected and that international law be upheld,” Liberal MP Pam Damoff, the parliamentary secretary for consular affairs, said in response.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that the blast at the Gaza hospital was “absolutely unacceptable.” Speaking in French, he told reporters that “it’s not legal” to bomb a hospital.

Ahli Arab Hospital has served as a refuge for Palestinians fleeing violence in the Hamas-controlled territory.

Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who leads the Anglican province that includes the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, called the blast “a crime against humanity.”

Naoum said Palestinians were camped out in the hospital courtyard when the explosion happened.

“We call upon all sides — this war must come to an end,” he told a news conference with other Christian leaders from the region.

Naoum said the hospital is closed while authorities tend to the dead and injured. He declined to speculate on who was behind the explosion.

Quebec Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi told reporters that the world must recognize Palestinian suffering.

“Butchery is what it is,” he said.

Pointing to UN figures that suggest some 4,200 people have died so far in the conflict — approximately 2,800 in Gaza and 1,400 in Israel — Zuberi said “we have to see that this stops. This is not acceptable.”

“Bombardments are falling on the heads of babies, of elderly seniors, of women and children, boys and girls and, yes, innocent adults who are both men and women,” Zuberi said. “We have to recognize that.”

Zuberi said he’s a former Canadian Armed Forces soldier who trained on the Geneva Convention, the international humanitarian law that regulates armed conflict.

“If I was behind an artillery cannon and I knew this would fall on hospitals and schools, I would not push that trigger,” he said.

Asked if the Liberal government should push for a ceasefire, Zuberi said it’s not up to him to make that call.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling for a ceasefire between Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian outfits.

“It’s about compassion and recognizing the horrible human toll of ongoing violence,” he said. “The toll is that innocent people lose their lives.

“We think the only way forward to peace is to ensure the hostages are released and there’s a ceasefire.”

Israel has invoked its right to self-defence after Hamas-linked militants carried out a brutal attack on unsuspecting Israeli civilians on Oct. 7.

The Liberal government’s position is that Israel has a legitimate right to defend itself against Hamas violence.