North Korea’s Foreign Ministry accused Israel of bombing Al-Ahli hospital in the Gaza Strip on 17 October.
North Korea’s foreign ministry said Israel had openly committed a war crime “under the undisguised patronage of the United States.”
According to the state-run KCNA news agency, a ministry spokesman also accused Washington of “giving Israel the green light to massacre the Palestinians without any fear” by sending it a military aid package and stationing its aircraft carriers in the Middle East. The spokesman said:
“This shows that the US is an accomplice who connived at and fostered Israel’s genocide.”
The Foreign Ministry did not provide any evidence to support its comments.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said an explosion at al-Ahli hospital earlier this month killed more than 500 people. Palestinians and Arab countries said the hospital was hit by an Israeli air strike. Israel said the bombing was caused by a failed rocket launch by Hamas, which denies responsibility.
A US official said Tuesday that US intelligence agencies believe “with a high degree of confidence” that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian missile that exploded mid-flight, not an Israeli missile. The death toll from the blast at the hospital and the number of wounded remains undetermined, the US official said.
Al-Ahli is one of the largest Palestinian medical centers in the Gaza Strip. Like other hospitals and clinics in Gaza, Al-Ahli was already running short on fuel, medicine, and space for the thousands of wounded who fell under the weight of their homes, following Israeli bombardment.
