Hyderabad: Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, branded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "liar" for the latter's claims that Hamas was responsible for the attack on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. The attack has already raised tensions in the region as both sides attempt to shift blame and responsibility for the devastating strike, that killed at least 500 people.
"He(Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) is a liar. His digital spokesperson tweeted that Israel did the hit thinking that there was a base for Hamas around this hospital, and then he deleted that tweet. We have a copy of that tweet..." Riyad Mansour said.
"Now they changed the story to try, blame the Palestinians. The Israeli spokesperson of the Army made a statement in which he said evacuate the hospitals...Their intention is to evacuate or hospitals will be hit and they are responsible for that crime and they cannot fabricate stories to deal with it," Mansour asserted during his press conference.
The Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN's fiery rebuttal while he was responding to the Al-Ahli hospital attack. While both sides are trading blames over the hospital attack, Mansour's condemnation sought to hold Israel accountable for the tragic attack, in which hundreds, including women and children were killed. He also demanded an immediate ceasefire.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, however, remained steadfast in his stance. He had earlier released a statement, shared on social media, which claimed that intelligence from multiple sources pointed to Islamic Jihad as the culprits behind the hospital attack. Netanyahu's assertion is based on an analysis of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operational systems, which indicated that a barrage of rockets being launched by terrorists in Gaza, passing close to Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital at the time it was hit.
"The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF," Netanyahu firmly asserted, going on to emphasize that those responsible for the strike also endangered their own children.
However, Netanyahu's claims did little to quell the ongoing dispute, with Mansour's subsequent counterattack and accusations of fabricated stories.
This incident, which unfolded at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza City, is particularly troubling, and has been fuelling tensions in the Middle-East.
A summit planned by Jordan was cancelled after the hospital attack. As per the schedule, the U.S. President Joe Biden was to be hosted by Jordan’s King Abdullah II with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, in attendance.
Jordan reasoned that it “would not be able to stop the war now.” Jordan’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Ayman Al-Safadi said that “Jordan will continue to work with everyone so that when this summit is held, it will be able to achieve what is required of it, which is to stop the war, deliver humanitarian support to the people of Gaza, and put an end to this crisis.”
Meanwhile, the international community is closely monitoring the situation and urging both sides to seek a peaceful resolution. The war of words between Palestinian and Israeli leaders only serves to heighten tensions in the region and complicates efforts to reach a ceasefire and a lasting peace. The full truth behind the attack on the hospital is yet to be revealed, but the consequences of this incident are painfully evident in the mounting loss of innocent lives.
