Rishi Sunak slams ‘rush to judgment’ on who is responsible for Gaza hospital disaster as he compares Hamas claims to Kremlin propaganda

Rishi Sunak slammed the ‘rush to judgment’ on who is responsible for the Gaza hospital disaster today as he compared Hamas claims to Kremlin propaganda.

At PMQs, Mr Sunak insisted the UK was working with allies ‘rapidly analysing’ what had happened after hundreds were killed at the al Ahli site.

But he gave a veiled rebuke to those who immediately blamed an Israeli airstrike, after evidence emerged suggesting it could have been a misfired rocket from a Hamas-linked group.

Mr Sunak told the House of Commons: ‘I know the whole House will have been shocked by the scenes at al Ahli hospital. As the Foreign Secretary has said we are working independently and with our allies to find out what has happened.

‘I am sure that members will be raising further questions with me during today’s session.’

Asked about the immediate backlash against Israel, Mr Sunak said: ‘We don’t treat what comes out of the Kremlin as the gospel truth, we should not do the same with Hamas.’ 

At PMQs, Rishi Sunak insisted the UK was working with allies ‘rapidly analysing’ evidence after hundreds were killed at the al Ahli site

A woman reacts while holding a pillow as she stands amidst debris outside the site of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza on October 18, 2023

Visiting Tel Aviv this morning, US President Joe Biden appeared to side with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by telling him it ‘appears as though it was done by the other team, not you’.

But Mr Sunak told the House of Commons that he was unable to reveal the UK verdict after holding talks with the National Security Adviser and the Joint Intelligence Committee.

Keir Starmer used the weekly Commons session, returning after the conference break, to call for humanitarian action.

‘International law must be upheld and that means hospitals and civilian lives must be protected,’ he said. 

He also stressed that Parliament ‘must strive to speak with one voice in condemnation of terror, in support of Israel’s right to self-defence and for the dignity of all human life that cannot be protected without humanitarian access to those suffering in Gaza and the constant maintenance of the rule of international law’. 

The comments came as Israel’s Defence Forces released evidence they claimed proves an overnight explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of people was caused by a misfiring rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

In an audio clip procured by Israeli military intelligence, two alleged Hamas terrorists can be heard discussing the explosion and confirming the rocket came from Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) – an independent jihadist group.

‘They are saying (the rocket) belongs to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It’s from us?’ one alleged Hamas member asks in the clip provided by Israel’s military intelligence.

‘It looks like it,’ the other responded. ‘It misfired and fell on them… God bless – couldn’t it have found another place to explode?’

The alleged recording came after Israeli officials released a video of the moment a rocket purportedly streaking towards Israel from Gaza appears to suffer a problem and suddenly changes course before flaming out.

In the darkness, it is not clear whether the rocket broke apart or simply lost its trajectory.

But moments later, a pair of explosions erupt in the city below – the result of what Israel claims was the rocket falling back to Earth and striking the al-Ahli Hosptial in Gaza City.

‘This is the tragic result of firing rockets from densely populated neighborhoods,’ the IDF said.

And finally, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari showed a series of infrared images, satellite photos and intelligence documents he said proved the damage caused at the hospital could not possibly have come from an Israeli strike.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari showed a series of infrared images, satellite photos and intelligence documents he said proved the damage caused at the hospital could not possibly have come from an Israeli strike

Israel also released a radar map of Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket attacks, as well as a video of the moment a rocket purportedly streaking towards Israel from Gaza appears to suffer a problem and suddenly changes course before flaming out

He explained the images showed there was no structural damage to buildings around the Al-Ahli hospital, no craters in the adjacent car park, and no debris consistent with an air strike, implying a direct hit from an Israeli missile would have caused far more destruction.

‘The walls stay intact. There are no craters in the parking lot. These are the characteristics that show it was not an aerial munition that hit the parking lot,’ he concluded.

He also pointed out images of what he claimed was shrapnel on the roof of nearby buildings, suggesting the rocket fell apart in the air and sprayed its detritus across a larger area.

Hagari said Hamas knew the hospital blast was caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket but launched a ‘global media campaign’ to blame Israel.

The evidence was published amid a torrent of fury from Hamas, the Arab world and Israel’s foes over the explosion, with Iran declaring last night that Israel’s ‘time is up’ and Tehran-backed terror group Hezbollah calling for a ‘day of rage’ after Gaza’s Health Ministry said some 500 people died in the blast.

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