Al-Alhi Hospital Redux

To the editor:

Just ten days after Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Fatah, along with other Gaza terror groups and thousands of ordinary civilians, began the current Gaza war with their barbaric terror attack, Israel was being loudly condemned for killing more than 500 civilians in a missile strike on the Al-Ahli Hospital.

Only later did the truth come out: No Israeli missiles struck the Al-Ahli Hospital. No Israeli missiles struck anywhere near Al-Ahli Hospital. Indeed, nothing struck the Al-Ahli Hospital; rather, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket misfired and instead of killing innocent Israelis, fell in a parking lot by the Al-Ahli Hospital and killed about a tenth of the number Hamas said an Israeli missile killed.

One would have thought the world and the media would have learned a lesson. Sadly, it clearly hasn't.

Immediately after a fire apparently claimed the lives of dozens of Arabs in the Al-Mawasi designated humanitarian area, once again Israel was blamed and widely condemned. While the facts have not been completely determined, it is now known the Israeli strike on two Hamas terrorists did not cause the fire and the deaths.

Israel executed a precision strike, using just two small, 17 kg bombs, the smallest bombs available, on enclosed buildings more than a kilometer and a half from humanitarian area. Videos show secondary explosions, most likely of munitions, bombs or rockets stored by Hamas. Blame for the tragedy clearly rests with Hamas, not Israel, in the same way Hezbollah was to blame for the massive explosion in Beirut on August 4, 2020 killed hundreds.

There is one clear prerequisite for ending the self-inflicted tragedy of Gaza: Hamas must be destroyed.

Sincerely,

Alan Stein

 Sent to the Boston Globe May 28, 2024

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