Biden, Macron denounce hospital massacre, fail to mention ‘Israel’
4 Min Read
The US and French presidents deliberately remain silent about the Israeli occupation's responsibility for the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital massacre in Gaza.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, left, speaks with US President Joe Biden after a family photo of leaders of the G7 and invited countries during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, western Japan, Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he was "outraged" by the deadly strike at the Baptist Hospital in Gaza caused by what he called an "explosion", failing to mention "Israel" as the perpetrator.
"I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted," Biden said in a statement as he headed on a visit to "Israel".
Biden said he had spoken to Jordan's King Abdullah II and Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "immediately upon hearing this news."
He added that he had directed his "national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened."
"The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy," Biden said.
Biden had also been due to visit Jordan, but the visit was canceled after the massacre that the Israeli occupation committed, in which the Ministry of Health in Gaza said more than 500 people were martyred.
The Israeli occupation deliberately bombed Al-Maamadani Hospital in the #Gaza Strip with the death toll expected to reach over 800 #Palestinians.#GazaUnderAttack #المستشفى_المعمداني pic.twitter.com/73mHZsgBBX
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 17, 2023
Also failing to mention the Israeli occupation's responsibility for the massacre, French President Emmanuel Macron said that "nothing can justify targeting civilians," calling for humanitarian access to the coastal strip "without delay".
"Nothing can justify a strike against a hospital. Nothing can justify targeting civilians. France condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Arabi hospital in Gaza which caused so many Palestinian victims. We think of them," Macron wrote on X.
Nothing can justify striking a hospital.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 17, 2023
Nothing can justify targeting civilians.
France condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, which made so many Palestinian victims. Our thoughts are with them. All the light must be shed on the circumstances.
"Humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip must be opened without delay."
In response, the head of the France Unbowed Party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, posted on X: "Is it so hard to condemn Netanyahu's war crimes? Is it so hard to condemn the racism that prevents us from seeing a Palestinian as a human being?"
In a separate post, the socialist leader said, "Shame on a French government that invents internal controversies instead of helping the victims of war crimes in Gaza."
C'est si dur de condamner les crimes de guerre de Netanyahu ? C'est si dur de condamner le racisme qui empêche de voir dans un palestinien d'abord un être humain ? Belles âmes bonnes consciences où êtes vous ?
— Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) October 17, 2023
"President [Macron], stop unconditional support for an Israeli government that commits such abominable war crimes." Melenchon stressed, adding, "This is not France."
This is not surprising from Biden and Macron, who expressed their absolute support for the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian Resistance that launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood to put an end to "Israel's" daily atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Honte d'un gouvernement français qui invente des polémiques intérieures au lieu d'aller au secours des victimes des crimes de guerre à Gaza. Président, arrêtez le soutien inconditionnel à un gouvernement israélien qui commet des crimes de guerre aussi abominables. La France ce… https://t.co/GUuN5rjJGP
— Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) October 17, 2023
Earlier, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Movement issued a statement in response to the Israeli occupation’s attempts at falsifying the truth amid attempts to accuse the PIJ of bombing the hospital.
The statement stressed that "hurling accusations at the PIJ will not absolve the enemy of its responsibility for the massacre.”
"The enemy is trying to fabricate lies, as usual, to evade responsibility for the brutal massacre,” the statement read.
The PIJ confirmed in the statement that the movement, like the rest of the Resistance factions in Gaza, "does not use places of worship or public facilities, especially hospitals, as military sites or positions to store weapons or launch rockets."
It stressed that "the Israeli enemy repeats these lies to justify its targeting of these centers, especially hospitals, which is a dangerous accusation by which it aims to evade responsibility for its crime and target other hospitals."
The movement pointed out that the hospital had already received explicit threats from the Israeli occupation to evacuate, stressing that "the conflicting narratives presented by the enemy expose its lies," and slamming its claims circulated across the media as "mere fabrications and slander."
Meanwhile, the PIJ pointed to the fact that a large number of field reporters and eyewitnesses were present at the hospital site, not to mention the videos that were filmed at the moment of the bombing.
The movement further confirmed that "the weight of the explosive head, the angle of the bomb’s fall, and the extent of the destruction it left behind are all documented and confirm that the targeting was done via aerial bombardment from a warplane."
In a related context, BBC Correspondent Jon Donnison said while reporting on the massacre in the hospital that "it's hard to see what else this could be, really, given the size of the explosion, other than an Israeli air strike, or several air strikes."
BREAKING: AL-AHLI BAPTIST HOSPITAL MASSACRE - BBC JOURNALIST STATES IT HAD TO BE ISRAEL
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) October 17, 2023
BBC's John Donnison: "It's hard to see what else this could be, really, given the size of the explosion, other than an Israeli air strike, or several air strikes" pic.twitter.com/Gxx4evC9DW
Read more: Condemnations pouring in following Gaza hospital massacre
