Skip to main content

Israel Says Its Munitions Alone "Could Not" Have Caused Deadly Rafah Blast

The Israeli military said on Tuesday its munitions alone "could not" have caused a deadly blaze that Gaza health authorities reported killed 45 people in the southern city of Rafah.

"Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size," Hagari said in a press briefing on the preliminary findings of an army probe into the deadly blaze that has drawn international condemnation.

Israel's military said it targeted and killed two senior Hamas militants in northwest Rafah in Sunday's strike, which sparked a blaze that tore through an encampment full of displaced Palestinians.

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident "a tragic accident".

Hagari said that "based on precise intelligence", aircraft dropped two 17-kilogramme munitions on the target, which he added was away from tent shelters housing displaced civilians.

"We are looking into all possibilities, including the option that weapons stored in a compound next to our target... may have ignited as a result of the strike."

Hagari then aired a recording of a phone call he said Israeli intelligence intercepted, which raised "the possibility that weapons stored in a nearby compound caught fire".

"Despite our efforts to minimise civilian casualties, the fire that broke out was unexpected and unintended," he said, adding the incident was still under investigation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/ZD96S5C
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

US Power Firm Admits It May Have Sparked Texas' Largest Wildfire Ever

A US power company admitted Thursday that its equipment may have sparked the largest wildfire in Texas' history. Xcel -- the parent of Southwest Public Service Company, which provides electricity to part of the state -- said it was working with officials investigating the cause of the blaze that charred more than a million acres (over 400,000 hectares). "Based on currently available information, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in an ignition of the Smokehouse Creek fire," the company said. Hundreds of homes are thought to have been destroyed in the fire, which is known to have killed at least two people and over 3,000 farm animals. Xcel, which is facing at least one lawsuit, denied its equipment was improperly maintained. "However, we encourage people who had property destroyed by, or livestock lost in, the Smokehouse Creek fire to submit a claim to Xcel Energy through our claims process," the statement said. The W
Post a Comment
Read more

It's Official, Kamala Harris Is Democratic Candidate For US Election

US Vice President Kamala Harris effectively secured the Democratic party's presidential nomination Friday, confirming her remarkable rise to party standard bearer in November's showdown against Republican Donald Trump. Kamala Harris was the sole candidate on the ballot for a five-day electronic vote of nearly 4,000 party convention delegates. She will be officially crowned at a Chicago convention later this month. "I am honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States," Kamala Harris, 59, said on a phone-in to a party celebration after securing enough votes by the second day of the marathon vote. In the two weeks since President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid, Kamala Harris has gained full control of the party. No other Democrats stepped forward to challenge her elevation to the top of the ticket, making her confirmation as the first Black and South Asian woman ever to secure a major party's nomination a formality. The a
Post a Comment
Read more

All You Need To Know About Donald Trump's 1st Criminal Trial

Donald Trump goes on trial Monday for allegedly covering up hush money payments to hide affairs ahead of the 2016 presidential election which propelled him into the White House. He will become the first former US president to go on criminal trial when jury selection begins next week. Here are the key questions ahead of the landmark trial: What is Trump accused of? As Trump closed in on victory in the 2016 presidential election, adult film star Stormy Daniels was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged 2006 sexual tryst with Trump. The payments, made by Trump's lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, were revealed by The Wall Street Journal in January 2018. Prosecutors have seized on the concealment of the payments as "legal fees" in the Trump Organization's accounts when Cohen was reimbursed as the heart of their case. Prosecutors say Trump "concealed the reason for these payments... which clearly were paid in order to influence voters," former prosec
Post a Comment
Read more