In a statement Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said the current U.S. assessment, based on “overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information,” found that Israel was “not responsible” for the blast at the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry said the strike, which Palestinian authorities have blamed on Israel, killed 471 people. The Israel Defense Forces presented materials that it said showed that the blast was the result of a failed Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket launch. None of the claims could be immediately verified by The Washington Post. Earlier in the day, President Biden, visiting Israel in a show of support for the U.S. ally amid its war with Hamas, announced plans for an “unprecedented” aid package to Israel, as well as humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank.
