(I24) Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said that Israel provided Washington with more information on its bombing of a high-rise tower in Gaza City housing offices of the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other news outlets.
“We did seek further information from Israel on this question,” Blinken said at a joint briefing with Iceland’s foreign minister in Reykjavik. “It’s my understanding that we’ve received some further information through intelligence channels, and it’s not something I can comment on,” he said.
In addition to media organizations, the building housed residential apartments.
An Israeli airstrike on Saturday afternoon leveled the 12-story al-Jalaa tower with journalists and residents given an hour to exit the structure before the bombing.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement after the strike that the building “contained military assets belonging to the intelligence offices of the Hamas terrorist organization.”
The IDF added that Hamas hid behind the offices of the press outlets in the tower, “using them as human shields.”
AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said in a statement that the news organization was “shocked and horrified” that Israel targeted and destroyed the building. However, some of the bureau’s former employees have acknowledged that the arrangement between Hamas and AP reporters was well-known in the Strip.
