RayKalm
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Trudeau not ready to accept U.S. finding that Palestinian militants' rocket was behind Gaza hospital blast
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Canadian officials are still reviewing evidence about the Gaza hospital blast that killed and maimed many Palestinian civilians and he's not prepared to say who's responsible.
That's a departure from what U.S. President Joe Biden and American national security services have said about the explosion.
"We are working closely with allies to determine exactly what happened," Trudeau told a press conference with Caribbean leaders in Ottawa when asked if he accepted the Israeli version of events that has since been endorsed by the U.S. government.
The Israeli military has said a misfired rocket launched by Palestinian militants was behind the explosion.
Hamas has blamed an Israeli airstrike for the blast.
There are conflicting reports about how many people died in the blast.
"We saw some preliminary evidence but we'll keep working with our allies as quickly as possible before reaching any firm and final conclusion," Trudeau said in French, adding that many communities here in Canada are "personally affected in an intensive way by what happened over there."
He said Canada is "taking the necessary time to look carefully at everything" before saying what it believes transpired Tuesday at the Anglican Church-run facility in Gaza City.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is 'working closely with allies' to determine who was responsible for a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital.
During a wartime visit to Israel on Wednesday, Biden said the U.S. defence department showed him intelligence that suggests the explosion at the Ahli Arab Hospital likely was not caused by an Israeli airstrike.
"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.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson later said that an analysis of "overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information" showed Israel was not behind the attack.
The Democratic and Republican leadership of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee issued a statement after reviewing the evidence that's been gathered so far.
"We feel confident that the explosion was the result of a failed rocket launch by militant terrorists and not the result of an Israeli airstrike," said Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Marco Rubio, the committee's leaders.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is 'working closely with allies' to determine who was responsible for a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital.
During a wartime visit to Israel on Wednesday, Biden said the U.S. defence department showed him intelligence that suggests the explosion at the Ahli Arab Hospital likely was not caused by an Israeli airstrike.
"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.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson later said that an analysis of "overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information" showed Israel was not behind the attack.
The Democratic and Republican leadership of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee issued a statement after reviewing the evidence that's been gathered so far.
"We feel confident that the explosion was the result of a failed rocket launch by militant terrorists and not the result of an Israeli airstrike," said Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Marco Rubio, the committee's leaders.
At a later press conference about Canadian diplomats leaving India, Joly was pressed to explain why Canada isn't willing yet to accept U.S. and Israeli statements assigning blame for the hospital blast.
"The prime minister has already answered," Joly said.
She bristled at repeated questions about the situation.
"I said it in the House, I said it in French, and I'll say it again. What happened in Gaza is completely devastating. There's been numerous conversations. Canada is in contact with all of its allies on this issue. We'll make sure to know what exactly happened," she said.
Anglican church officials have said an untold number of Palestinian refugees were camped out in the hospital courtyard when the explosion hit Tuesday.
Images gathered by BBC News, the Associated Press and Reuters 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.
