Secretary of State confirms US has received intelligence of destroyed media building used by Hamas from Israel
By: Gary Willig
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated Tuesday that Israel had provided the US with intelligence showing the media building which was destroyed in Gaza on Saturday was used by the Hamas terrorist organization for military purposes.
The Associated Press, Al Jazeera, and several other media organizations operated out of the building, which was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike following a warning to evacuate the building.
“We have received some further information through intelligence channels,” Blinken said, adding that the nature of the material is “not something I can comment on.”
Yesterday, Blinken said that he had not seen the evidence Israel said it supplied the US regarding its airstrike on the building.
“I have not seen any information provided. And again, to the extent that it is based on intelligence, that would have been shared with other colleagues and I’ll leave that to them to assess,” he said.
Israel National News also reported that Defense Minister Benny Gantz spoke with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday and expressed his appreciation to the defense secretary for the American administration’s support of Israel’s right to self-defense. He also took the opportunity to thank him for the condolences conveyed to Israeli families who have lost loved ones to Hamas’ rocket fire.
Gantz told Austin that Hamas is continuing to fire on its civilian population, among other aggressions. He detailed the significant military objectives that have been achieved over the past few days and stated that the IDF’s military campaign will continue to the end of achieving long-term quiet. Gantz added that Israel will continue to act responsibly, both in terms of its security and foreign policy.
In another development, A7 reported that two IDF soldiers were wounded in a terrorist shooting near Ramallah Tuesday afternoon.
One of the soldiers was lightly wounded while the other was lightly to moderately wounded. Both soldiers were shot in the leg.
Emergency responders treated the wounded at the scene and evacuated them to the hospital.
A general strike has been declared among the Arab population of Israel and Judea and Samaria in support of Hamas during the current rocket barrages against Israel, with an increasing number of attacks on Jews and security forces both within Israel and in Judea and Samaria.
This morning, a terrorist was killed in a failed bombing attack at Gross Square in Hebron.
