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A heavy explosion occurred Tuesday night at Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. Hamas was quick to pin the blame on Israel, claiming more than 500 civilian deaths. As more and more evidence emerges, that story seems less and less consistent with reality.

The sad balance: A heavy explosion at a Gaza hospital, possibly caused by a rocket attack, puts the already sharp Middle East on edge a bit more.

  • Fierce headlines on just about every news website yesterday, which had to show that an Israeli rocket attack on the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza had caused more than 500 deaths. Only, the only source of information used for this was the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. Truth is the first thing to perish in times of war, but the damage had been done.
  • In response to the tragedy, virtually the entire Middle East took to the streets: in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, the West Bank, as well as in some North African countries, vigorous demonstrations took place around some Western embassies. Slogans such as "Death to Israel" and "Death to the US," Hezbollah flags and stones flew through the air. The leaders of Arab states also immediately reacted vigorously, toward Israel that is.

Question marks

The gist: Throughout the evening and morning, images were released, and reactions from Israel.

  • This denies all involvement, and itself points in the direction of Palestinian terror groups: one image shows a rocket being fired from Gaza, it explodes in the air (by accident or interception) and parts of it fall on the hospital.
  • Images from this morning then show the parking lot of the hospital, with a few burned-out cars, and not a single badly damaged building or impact crater. This also immediately puts a substantial question mark on the number of deaths that occurred in the explosion.
  • That track also seems to make the most sense to the Americans. Almost immediately after touchdown by U.S. President Joe Biden at Tel Aviv airport, he pointed to Palestinian groups. "Based on what I saw, it was done by the other team, not you guys," he responded when asked who he thought was responsible for the incident.

The reactions: The incident immediately creates new fire in the European oven, where two bantams face each other in the ring.

  • "We got this information during the virtual meeting with EU leaders. The attack seems confirmed. An attack against civilian infrastructure is not in line with international law," Charles Michel, president of the European Council, proclaimed sharply last night. In his message on X afterwards, he also called on the warring parties "to provide immediate access to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip."
  • With that last sentence, he seems to have won the contest of "who has the most power now?" against Ursula von der Leyen. After her visit to Israel, she expressed full support for dealing with the conflict, not a single word about the situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
  • In doing so, she also immediately stepped out of her role: as European Commission president, she does not have the mandate at all to express support on behalf of all EU member states: that role is reserved for the countries themselves, or Europe's foreign chief Josep Borrell.

Shame on cheeks

The reaction: Michel called together the heads of government of the member states yesterday, to define a position in this conflict.

  • This was necessary, after the internal wrangling of the past week, but while seems mainly a move to bring shame to VDL's cheeks. And not surprisingly, the Union is now also putting more attention on the Palestinian suffering: this currently seems to be the only way towards reconciliation, and the way not to inflate relations between Europe and the Global South.
  • It is notable, however, that in her response to the explosion at the hospital, von der Leyen omitted the phrase about humanitarian aid: "I am saddened by the attack on Al-Ahli hospital and the large number of deaths. There is no excuse for hitting a hospital full of medical personnel and civilians. All the facts must be established and the perpetrators held accountable," she posted on X. In her speech to the European Parliament this morning, she also strongly emphasized "the terror of Hamas that pushed Israel and Palestine into a new spiral of violence."
  • And people from Belgium are also reacting to the incident. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib (MR) tackled it in a very nuanced way, holding back on the facts spread by Hamas: "Civilians must not be targeted, nor used as hostages or shields," giving both sides a slap on the wrist. Minister of Public Enterprises Petra De Sutter (Green), a gynecologist by training, does speak of an airstrike, but is otherwise clear: "Nothing legitimizes this bloodshed. EU must immediately call for ceasefire," she posted on X.

(evb)

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