Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240703

Good afternoon. Youre watching cnn news central. Im Boris Sanchez alongside Brianna Keilar In Washington With Destruction on full display in the house of raptives as President Biden is preparing for a wartime visit to israel. His trip, partly a show of support, part deterrence for israels enemies and part diplomatic push to get roughly 200 hostages, many of them american, out of gaza as they also attempt to get humanitarian relief in. Right now gaza is very much at a breaking point. A Palestinian Health official says hospitals there are in actual collapse and that was before the latest devastation. These are images that are disturbing that youre seeing right here. A hospital that was hit in gaza a short time ago. The Palestinian Health Ministry Says at least 200 people were killed by an israeli air strike. Israel is not confirming that this was a strike by its military. It says that it is looking into this. Lets get you on the ground now. Cnns Clarissa Ward who is in ashkelon, israel, which is ten miles north of gaza. Jeremy dimon is in jerusalem for us. Clarissa, what can you tell us about what happened at this hospital . So this hospital is in gaza city in the northern part of gaza. It is Al Ahli Baptist hospital. Thousands of people were using it as a place of refuge, as a place that they thought would be safe. This is very common in times when theres intensive bombardment in gaza. People go to hotels, they go to hospitals and they go to any place they can where they believe they will not face heavy bombardment. We are hearing, as you mentioned, from Palestinian Health officials that at least 200 to 300 people have been killed as a result of this strike. We are also hearing outrage and condemnation from all around the region. The secretarygeneral of the arab league saying, quote, a mind from hell is the one who deliberately bombs a hospital with its defenseless patients and calling upon the west to actively put an end to the mayhem. Well over 3,000 palestinians now dead. The Palestinian Authority in the west bank calling for three days of mourning and just a sense of tremendous pain, horror and anguish from people inside gaza, many of whom have had to flee their homes. Some 600,000 according to the u. N. Who have pushed out of their homes in Northern Gaza into the southern part of gaza, and i should add there were strikes there, too, today. Earlier this morning strikes in han unis and the gaza Border Crossing and theres no space inside gaza where people can find some form of refuge and not to mention the fact that the humanitarian situation has become completely untenable with the u. N. Calling it an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and all the while diplomatic efforts to try to open up that rafah Border Crossing remain hand strung. Boris . Brianna . Clarissa, we have some live images to share with our viewers. I believe this is from the west bank and this is a protest. Live images from ramallah, this is in response to the strike at the hospital. What can you tell us about the reaction that is going around in gaza and the west bank now to this strike . I mean, the reaction is going to be fierce and it is going to be angry, and i dare say, it will be bloody. We have already heard many red alerts and sirens here in ashkelon. Several barrages of rockets, hamas calling this a genocide and that language is being used by many palestinians as well. There is a sense that even by the standards of the Ferocious Bombardment that we have seen over the course of the last ten days this is a new level in terms of the fact that it was a hospital and the fact that so many people were killed. Were being told that the death toll may be even higher than that initial estimate of 200 to 300 people. Obviously, it is incredibly difficult to get a full picture when its late at night and its dark and theres no electricity and the internet is spotty, but certainly, i think this could mark an Inflexion Point in this crisis and certainly it will put a lot of pressure on President Biden ahead of his visit to israel tomorrow and also raise the specter of an increasingly heightened Security Situation that he will be entering into here. Jeremy, talk to us a little bit about this because you have officials there in gaza saying that this was an israeli strike. Israel is not confirming that. Presumably, israeli strikes are pinpoint. Presumably, they know where hospitals are. Shed some light on how they pick targets, whether this could have been an israeli target or some kind of accident and what youre learning. Yeah. The picture is very uncertain at this time. I was able to speak briefly with an idf spokesman who simply did not have any information one way or the other saying that they are looking into this and that this is certainly something that they take very, very seriously. We will see, but certainly striking a hospital directly like that causing hundreds of casualties is is something that would be a very, very dark mark on the Israeli Military if, indeed, that is the case, but as of yet, we are still waiting to confirm exactly the circumstances behind the strike and how exactly this came to be, but if it was carried out by the Israeli Military, that is certainly not something that President Biden is going to want to see before he is set to arrive tomorrow. Jeremy, walk us through the schedule for President Biden because obviously, the fact that this is happening hours before hes set to land and visit jordan and then israel, it will, no doubt, come up with discussions with the leaders. Yeah. Undoubtedly. President biden is coming here tomorrow with two main goals in mind. One, on the one hand, the symbolic aspect of showing u. S. Support for israel and showing no daylight between israel and the United States. The deterrent factor there as he tries to prevent this conflict between israel and hamas from becoming a wider war, but then, of course, there are the Practical Impacts and our White House Team is reporting that the president received an explicit commitment from the israeli Prime Minister that he would allow humanitarian aid to flow through before the president , indeed, agreed to make this pretty dramatic wartime visit to israel. And so its very clear that as President Biden comes here he doesnt just want to come here for that symbolic aspect. He wants to actually be able to leave with something concrete having been accomplished, and it appears that at least one of those things will be some kind of plan, some kind of agreement by the israelis to allow humanitarian aid to begin flowing back into the gaza strip. We know that u. S. Officials have also been very focused on trying to get American Citizens out of the gaza strip and into egypt via that rafah crossing. It has been now four days since American Citizens were told to head south to that rafah crossing, telling them u. S. Officials telling them that they believed that crossing would open and yet has been four days that that crossing has not opened. So you can expect that those would be some of the agenda items as the president comes to tel aviv tomorrow and then as he also goes to jordan to meet with the palestinian, egyptian and jordanian leaders there, as well. The humanitarian situation in gaza very much a focus there as well as the broader regional dynamics. Yeah. Certainly. Jeremy and clarissa, thank you to both of you. Now joining us, we have from jerusalem is avi, the editor in chief of the jerusalem post. Avi, what can you tell us about what you are learning about this strike that appears to have killed hundreds according to the Palestinian Health ministry . Im hearing the same sort of things that your correspondents are hearing that there is a lack of clarity on what transpired and i can tell you that it took place in the midst of the barrage of rockets from gaza into israel and it is certainly not unusual for those rockets to misfire. Roughly 10 to 30 of the rockets fired by Palestinian Terrorist groups in gaza towards israel actually land in gaza often killing palestinians. It is certainly possible that that happened here and it is also certainly possible that was an israeli air strike that hit this hospital. I can tell you as far as the mechanics, israel does not target hospitals and if this happened it was obviously an accident and it doesnt diminish the very real Human Tragedy that we see unfolding if its true that several hundred people have been killed and it is horrifically tragic and that is something that they share. They know where israel knows where the hospitals are, though, right . Can you explain to us the process . I imagine these are Precision Strikes . Generally speaking, yeah. There is an essentially a list of targets in gaza generally involving hamas infrastructure Military Installations, Weapons Depots and Rocket Launching Sites so on and so forth and theyre often in residential areas and even though they are there and that makes them legitimate targets, israel will often refrain from hitting those targets because they know that it will draw civilian casualties. So i would view it as extremely unlikely. I would say virtually impossible that the hospital itself was a target and whether there was a Military Installation nearby and the hospital was inadvertently hit, i think that remains to be seen. A lot of details that we are still awaiting here. We heard from Israels National Security minister bengvir who said, quote, as long as hamas does not release the hostages in its hands, the only things that needs to enter gaza are hundreds of tons of explosives from the air force, not an ounce of humanitarian aid. Is that fair to Palestinian Civilians . Well, bengvir does not speak to the new unity government that was created specifically to deal with the crisis that unfolded following the hamas massacre of last weekend. I dont think many israelis will agree with that statement. There is an agreement that palestinians should not be held responsible for the actions of hamas. At the same time there is a great deal of determination that ensure that hamas is dealt a devastating blow and that it never, ever has the capacity to carry out a massacre like it did last weekend, killing 1400, men, women, the elderly and babies. These are live pictures coming in to us from ramallah where there are hundreds of people protesting after this hospital has been hit in gaza. Weve been talking about this, a lot of details that we are still awaiting to figure out exactly what happened there, but avi, the president , President Biden will be arriving in israel tomorrow morning. What are israelis looking for from this visit from him . Look, i think the president has been tremendously supportive of israel over the past week in the wake of this horrific tragedy. He, his administration including secretary blinken and Secretary Austin has repeatedly expressed solidarity and support for the people of israel. Israelis will want to hear more of that and theyll also want to hear how america will play a constructive role in bringing the hostages home and b, in ensuring that this conflict doesnt grow any wider. The United States has sent two carrier groups to the Eastern Mediterranean to deter hezbollah and its patron in iran from engaging in the northern border and expanding this conflict any further and well look forward to hearing more of that and also how the United States has the means to protect itself by itself as it always has. Avi, we appreciate your time. Thank you very much for being with us. Thank you for having me. We want to get some reaction from the white house now. So lets go there with cnns kayla tausche. Yesterday President Biden had been deliberating a visit to israel. Hes now decided to go and obviously, it happens amid this Breaking News of a horrible attack on a hospital in gaza. Talk to us about whether theres been any reaction from the white house to this latest news. Boris, its an extraordinary and highstakes trip and one that came with several careful considerations behind the scenes that cnn has brandnew reporting on. We know that President Biden was inclined to accept the invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit israel when the country found itself at war with hamas and considers netanyahu a longtime friend and ally, but before signing off on the trip he wanted some very explicit commitments from israel that humanitarian aid would be allowed to flow into gaza, and it wasnt until secretary of state Antony Blinken secured some of those commitments directly from netanyahu and his top aides during a Marathon Meeting on the ground yesterday that the president and his team gave the green light for this trip, which has a few objective, some of which jeremy and your previous guests have already mentioned. First, to lay the groundwork for the aid to flow and for humanitarian passage out of gaza. Theres an understanding between u. S. And israeli officials that that process would begin before a Ground Invasion would begin and that was something that has been discussed behind the scenes. Number two, the u. S. Also wants to secure the release of the american hostages that are still being held by hamas and the president also wants to prevent this conflict from Spilling Over in the region. Thats why hes going to be meeting with several other leaders and its a trip that carries tremendous Political Risk that he comes away without achieving objectives and just from being on the ground wartimes rail with that strike on the Gaza Hospital, case in point for those very risks that are present there. No question about that. Well see how the news out of the hospital of gaza plays in his visit. Kayla tausche, thank you very much. If we can pull up the pictures from ramallah. Unbelievable. These are protests that sprung about as a reaction to that strike in gaza, and we saw a large crowd gather throwing what appeared to be rocks and a vehicle heading straight to the crowd to try to disperse them. Were seeing what appears to be tear gas and flashbangs going off and everyone went running after that, but this protest coming in the wake of this terrible event which quite frankly, we are still awaiting details on. The palestinians are insisting that this was an israeli strike on a hospital in gaza that has killed hundreds of people. Israel says its looking into it and it hasnt confirmed it. The idf spokesperson for the idf essentially put out or rather, a spokesperson for the israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the idf does not target hospitals. We only target hamas strongholds, arm depots and terror targets. Tensions are already high in the region and escalating further just hours before President Biden is set to arrive in the region. Thats right. Well be talking more about that. Stay with cnn for our live breaking coverage just ahead. We are continuing to follow the latest developments out of the mideast, but we want to focus on capitol hill for a moment where congressman jim jordan is still trying to sway some 20 republicans who voted against him in the first round of votes for the speakership. Hes been meeting with holdouts Behind Closed Doors since his first attempt faltered. Lets discuss with missouri congressman mark alford who voted for jordan and he was originally a mccarthy supporter. Thanks for sharing your afternoon with us. It appears that jim jordan will try for ago vote on the floor today. Were you part of any of his private conversations with holdouts . Do you think he swayed any of them . Thats between jim jordan and these 20 holdouts. I do think that some of the holdouts, this was an initial vote of protest whether against jim jordan or more possibly for Steve Scalise and the people they voted for and perhaps maybe a vote against whats been going on in our conference, this disarray and this disunity, if you will. Weve got to restore that unity. I firmly believe that jim jordan is the person to do that. This is a football game, and we had the first down just an hour or so ago. Weve got three more downs to go, and weve got to make sure that our coach and our quarterback has the votes he needs to get us across the goal line, and i think by the end of maybe not today, maybe tomorrow that we will have those votes. Congressman, continuing your football analogy, if its a three and out, and you go three rounds of voting and hes still not getting to 217, should he punt. Should your conference consider another potential spooeaker . That will be up to our designate jim jordan. Weve had a couple of members now, speaker Emeritus Jwithdraw his name and Steve Scalise did that each though he won the majority in the conference after realizing if that happens that he cannot secure the 217. I dont think that will happen. I think hell be able to convince people that he is the person who can unify our party. Are you concerned at all about concessions he might have to make or promises he might have to make . After all, in order to become speaker, Kevin Mccarthy had to do that and ultimately some of those promises cost him the speakership. Look, i think the grave mistake that Kevin Mccarthy made was giving this Single Person to vacate the chair, i think that was an anvil hanging over Kevin Mccarthy since january and it finally came down on his head. It will be hanging over the future speaker whoever that might be, but i do believe that jim jordans going to be able to work not necessarily give People Committee memberships or seats or chairs or gavels in certain committees, but to reassure them that we can Work Together as a party to secure our border and to get these eight remaining Appropriation Bills passed, to give the aid to israel that it so desperately needs right now. Congressman, i did have a question for you on israel, but first, i want to zero in on thfr will be. Whats your message to colleagues of yours like Carlos Jimenez who voted for Kevin Mccarthy, and lee zeldin also got some vote. What would you say to those folks who are hard nos on jim jordan . I made it a point to do two things when i came to congress, to always tell the truth and number two, to never judge another members vote, the way they voted and trying to question why they voted a certain way. Thats between them and their dift ridiculous, mr. Jimenez feels very strongly, and mr. Rugford came on very strongly. I do not their votes, and i hope they will not judge mine. Ultimately, what message do you think this sends to the world that your conference cannot get together and come up with a speaker . Well, it does not send a good message, to tell you the truth. Im disappointed in what has happened over last two weeks. I wanted Kevin Mccarthy to stay in office. I did not want him to give up the fight. He did. The eight people who sided with the democrats to vote him out have to live with that and we are where we are. The chapter has now turned to a new chapter for the u. S. House of representatives and we must move forward. We cannot look back. Too much is at stake. The world is on fire, and we are a ship basically without a rudder. Weve got to get that rudder into place so we can start sailing forward and do the things we need to do to lead, not just as a party, but the United States of america. Congressman, to your point about the world being on fire, i know youve been busy this afternoon and im not sure if youve seen the news, but i do want to give you the opportunity to react to news that a hospital in gaza has been the target of a Missile Strike. Hundreds of people are dead there. Ostensible, many them civilians which had nothing to do with the attack by hamas and the atrocities we saw committed by hamas in israel. Your reof hearing about the strike on a hospital . Look, in the fog of war, i do not want to lay any blame. I do not want to make any staples that might inflame a situation. Loss of life is tragic, and i know that these Hamas Terrorists who Butchered Israelis To well saturday, a week ago, they are to plame for this. We need to stand by israel as they eradicate hamas from the face of the earth. Not the palestinian people, but hamas. That sort of terrorism should not stand and we need to stand with them and behind them toiv go them the support. We cant do that as Congress Rate now. We have a possible vote, possibly thursday or friday, and if we dont have a speaker to get the iron dome replenished. Congressman marc alford. Thank you for your time. Of course. Back to news this hour, protests erupting after a strike on a Gaza Hospital killed hundreds of people. The israeli Prime Ministers office seaing the idf does not target hospitals. Quote, we only target hamas strongholes, arms depots and terror targets. President biden is heading to israel tomorrow, we should note. Many americans remain trapped in gaza. We will speak to a lawyer for a massachusetts family that now in the region struggling to get out. Stay with us. And this is just in. The Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas has canceled his meeting with President Biden after this attack of the hospital in gaza. We have cnns rafael rommo in tel aviv. To a limited extent that the Palestinian Authority is a political player, we should be very clear about that when it comes to the palestinians this was a meeting that was very important and it has clearly now gone from fraught to untenable as he is heading back to the west bank. Brianna. We dont know where the ms. Ilcame from. Who is responsible for the attack. The Palestinian Government is blaming israel and theyre calling the bombing, quote, a new war crime against this crowded hospital committed by what they call the occupation. Palestinian officials also said the hospital housed hundreds of patients as well as wounded and forcibly displaced people from their homes due to the air strikes. Whats israels reaction to e Al Ahli Ban Activity Hospital and it is unclear if the hospital was hit by an Israeli Air Force strike and this is key, brianna, a failed hamas launch. Now we have to clarify that this hospital is known by many different names. Cnn is calling it the Al Ali Baptist hospital to avoid any confusion, preliminary estimates indicate that, as you mentioned before between 200 to 300 people have been killed in the strike, but there are still many people under the hospital rubble, brianna. Yes. We are awaiting many details. We have to be clear about that. Different stories coming from different camps here. Rafael, thank you for that report from tel aviv. For many people on the ground in gaza, this is a nightmare scenario. 14s and loved ones cut off from the rest of the world. Hundreds of thousands are still trying to flee that war zone. And that includes u. S. Citizens like Wafa Abu Akal and their 1yearold son yousef who you see here in these photos. They were planning to travel back to their home in massachusetts after they were just there visiting family in the gaza strip, then, though, this horrific attack on israel happened and now, like so many families, they are trapped. They are unable to escape and theyre facing a dire humanitarian crisis. Joining us now is the attorney representing the family. Sammy nabolzi. Thank you for joining us. How often have you spoken to wafah and abboud. Have they shared what theyre dealing with right now . Yes, i have. I spoke to abboud and and we communicated over whats app about an hour ago and the situation is extremely dire for them. A couple of days they ran out of Drinking Water and not sure exactly what theyve doing to get the water supply and the food supply is limited and abboud was telling me about the story to going to bakery to get some bread and theyre limiting the bread to what an individual or family can buy and this morning and yesterday there were air strikes in rafah near where they are. He sent me a photograph less than a kilometer to where theyre staying and it is extremely dangerous and the other 500 and 600 americans trapped in gaza. What kind of help, sammy, are you asking for, are you trying to get from the u. S. Government . Have you been in touch with the State Department . What are they telling you . Yes, ive been in contacs with the white house and the State Department. Ive been in touch with most of the Massachusetts Delegatione an there will be one, and in fact, i heard from abboud yesterday that the u. S. Embassy in cairo had to call him and ask the family whether things at the rafah crossing had been progressing. At the moment neither myself or the family are receiving any information about a Departure Option for single American Citizen at the rafah crossing. It sounds like theyre trying to get information from the families on the ground as to whether the rafah crossing is even tenable as a route of departure. I do want to point out, the families traveling with abbouds sister and her three kids are also American Citizens. So if the rafah crossing remains impassable, how are they going to get out . What might they do next . I dont know. I dont think there is a way out other than resolving the ability for American Citizens to cross at rafah. We are not aware of any other options in the United States government, im not aware of them working on any other option. This is a, unfortunately, becoming a do or die moment for every American Citizen at rafah. Im not sure exactly what theyll do. We mentioned abbouds sister and their three kids and abboud was there with their 1yearold son yousef and abboud tells me as of yesterday their son started spiking a fiever. Its becoming, treatmently dangerous not just in rafah and along Southern Reza and their own health is becoming a problem for them and every other family there. Clearly, they may be needing some medical attention and we understand the hospitals are overrun and there are tremendous problems there. President biden visiting tomorrow, sammy. Are you hopeful that this visit could have any impact on the situation or getting egypt to open this crossing . The visit absolutely has to have an impact on this on the situation. In pack, President Biden should not be getting on a plane coming back to the United States until he secured the safe and immediate departure of every American Citizen in gaza, period. Sammy nabulsi, we appreciate you getting the word out about the difficult situation that your friends are in. Please keep us posted on what youre hearing from them. We will. Thank you for telling our story. Of course. Still to come on news central, much worse than expected. Thats an ally of jim jordan talking to cnns dana bash after 20 republicans voted against the Ohio Congressmans bid to become the next house speaker, but he says hes not backing out. It could be up for a vote very soon. We are live on capitol hill in just moments. It is an uphill battle that hon of thely seems to be getting steeper by the second. Ohio congressman jim jordan scrambling to turn the 20 republicans who just voted against him in the first speaker vote today. And we have some new reporting that indicates he just met with his main challenger from last round, congressman Steve Scalise. Jordan apparently asking him for help, scalise, though, refusing to commit to help the Ohio Congressman in his bid to become the 56th speaker of the house. Congressional correspondent lauren fox is live on capitol hill. Not a great look that Steve Scalise doesnt appear to want to help jordan. Lets just rewind the tape, though, boris, if you remember it was Steve Scalise who actually bested jim jordan in a closeddoor conference vote to become the next speaker and then it became very clear because of a number of jordan allies that Steve Scalise was not going to be able to dlifclinch the 217 v to get there and Steve Scalise bowed out. On the floor of the house of representatives, scalise voted for jim jordan, but you know, there has been talk that if jim jordan could not get support on the first ballot to win this race there becomes a question of how long are people going to be backing him and how hard are people who supported Steve Scalise or Kevin Mccarthy going to be fighting for jim jordan . He is meeting right now Behind Closed Doors with members of the floor just right below where im standing right now and the question remains, you know, is he going to be able to pick up more support in a subsequent vote on the floor of the house . And i think that that remains to be seen right now. Jim jordan is someone who you either love or you may not like very much in the house of representatives, and i think you saw that on the floor with a number of house appropriators actually voting against him. These are the people who time after time saw jim jordan vote against a series of spending bills over this last decade or so in congress, and you saw kay granger, the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee Voting against jim jordan. That was quite a moment. The Question Rate now is jim jordan is expected to get another vote on the floor. That is the current plan according to his spokesman. The question becomes once he gets to the floor is he able to pick up support or does he start to hemorrhage support you have to show that you are actually picking up support. Right now, i think, that is the question of the day. Boris . It could be a roll of the dice. Lauren fox live for us on the hill. Thank you so much. Hamas is banned on most social media apps, however, its Foll Following has skyrocketed on one particular channel in the past few days. Why the terror group is not banned on telegraph. Next. We want to go now to jonathan conridus, a spokesperson for the idf. Jonathan, are you there . Can you hear us . Yes, i am, and i can hear you loud and clear. I want to get your response to the news of this hospital in gaza reportedly some 200 to 300 people being killed there by an apparent Missile Strike. Hamas is saying that this was the Israeli Defense force. What is your response . The First Response is that anything said by hamas should be taken with extreme caution and skepticism, and i urge all journalists to be very careful when they report what hamas says and when they base reporting on those, vents. What i can say is that we have analyzed various sources of intelligence and systems and the information that we have, which has been confirmed by the highest levels in the idf is the following, we are aware of a barrage of rockets that was fired by terrorists from gaza towards israel and that passed in close proximity to that hospital in gaza at the time that it was hit. The intelligence that we have from multiple sources is it indicates that the Islamic Jihad, another terrorist organization in gaza, is responsible for a failed Rocket Launch that struck the hospital in gaza. So youre saying two things are happening here. A series of hamas rockets that were passing by and this is an Islamic Jihad failed Rocket Launch . Yes. The bottom line is that according to our Intelligence Analysis and the various systems that we have of air control, et cetera, indicate that this was a failed launch and not in general, but specifically, by Islamic Jihad. And jonathan, obviously, there is going to be enormous scrutiny from around the world on exactly what led up to this Missile Strike on the hospital, and i just want misfired rocket strike. Not a Missile Strike. We did not struck that hospital. So a Missile Strike, pardon me, but i just wanted to share with our viewers there is new video of the strike. Nevertheless, hundreds of people were killed and there will be enormous scrutiny, are you willing to share the intelligence, the actual raw data with the world that indicates what youre saying, that this was Islamic Jihad and not the idf . Were in the progress of declassifying. I cannot promise yet that we will, but maybe because of the importance and because of the mistake here that may happen, but the important fact that i can say now for the first time on cnn is that we did not strike that, and that the intelligence that we have suggests that it was a failed Rocket Launch by the Islamic Jihad, and i want to add categorically, that we do not intentionally strike any sensitive facilities, any sensitive facilities and definitely not hospitals. We are very much aware of the presence of civilians and we are all too aware of the cynical manipulation that hamas seeks to do by using civilians exactly for these purposes and we have seen that all over the many years of conflict that weve had with hamas and more so during this war, they have no boundaries. They bomb their own civilians and they attack them and use violence and in this case, what happened is that they are trying to leverage this sad incident of a misfire of an Islamic Jihad rocket in order to leverage pressure on israel. Are you saying that with 100 certainty, you can say this was not an idf Missile Strike . As certain as any anybody can be with a million pieces of nfrgs information flying around, but after a very serious review i can say that this is the information that we have now. We are confident and the information that we have says that this was a failed launch by the Islamic Jihad. Were was the idf operating . Were there idf Missile Strikes in this area at the time . Theres continuous Military Operations by the idf in various locations all across the gaza strip and theres also continuous rocket fire and the alarms sounded in israel just about the time of the reported strike or the reported explosion at the hospital. I, myself, was on the way and there were rockets coming in towards tel aviv yes, but i do just want to be very, very clear on this to get your level of certainty, jonathan, because youre saying that there were idf Missile Strikes all across the part of gaza and sort of in this area at the time in particular. No, i did not say that. You said in the region. Yeah, right. Let me please be clear. Let me ask my question. Let me ask my question of you, jonathan. Were there Missile Strikes in the vicinity of this hospital within, you know, blocks of this hospital and the neighborhood of this hospital . Not as far as im aware. Our investigation has been focused on first making sure that there was no intentional targeting. That has been established totally and in further review of the Intelligence Systems that we have, radars and others, they indicate that this was a failed launch by the Islamic Jihad. That is the information that i have. I stand by it. It has been axe ppproved by the highest levels of the idf and that is the information that i stand by. There will be, as you noted, skepticism from around the world because of claims from hamas and other groups by the way the idf has conducted its business historically in gaza. What do you say to those that dont believe what youre saying . Listen, if its believing the idf or believing hamas, i think it should be clear for anybody involved that they should believe the idf. We dont claim to be perfect. We definitely make mistakes, but we always aspire to tell the truth and to be transparent, and when there have been mistakes we have owned our mistakes and they come out clear about it. This time, what im saying is that this according to the information we have was a failed Rocket Launch by hamas and saying specifically the name of the organization because that indicates the level of intel that has gone into it. This was the Islamic Jihad that fired a longrange rocket towards a longrange target. It failed and exploded and that is what happened at the hospital. Youre saying they missed their target, essentially. Yes. Listen this has been going on in any conflict and anybody who has been following our fighting with hamas knows that in every time that theres rocket fire towards israel, say they fire a few thousand rockets there are hundreds of misfires. In this conflict alone theres been