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Israel says Hamas was using tower housing press offices to jam the Iron Dome

AP said that they are yet to receive evidence for Israel's claims

airstrike-building-al-jazeera-ap The al-Jalaa building in Gaza that housed several media organisations including the offices of the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera | AP

Israel Ambassador to the US and the UN Gilad Erdan on Tuesday said, “The unit (the building that housed offices of AP and Al Jazeera) was developing an electronic jamming system to be used against the Iron Dome defence system”.

It is for the first time since May 15, when the Jala Tower was attacked, that Israel, has come forth with an explanation. The Iron Dome is a defence system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells

Erdan gave the explanation during a meeting with AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt in New York, AP reported. He later sent out a series of tweets outlining Israel's position.

While AP said that it appreciated Erdan’s explanation, it released a statement saying, “We have yet to receive evidence to support these claims. AP continues to call for the full release of any evidence the Israelis have so that the facts are public.”

Emphasising that Israel did not intentionally target journalists, Erdan said, “AP is one of the most important news agencies in the world and Israel does not suspect its employees were aware a covert Hamas unit was using the building in this way.” 

“I reaffirmed that Israel upholds the importance of press freedom and strives to ensure the safety of journalists wherever they are reporting. Israel is willing to assist AP in rebuilding its offices and operations in Gaza,” he added.

The owner of the tower said that he had pleaded with the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) for ten minutes so that employees at AL Jazeera could retrieve equipment. The owner’s lawyers said that he would lodge a complaint with the International Criminal Court over the attack, citing that it is a war crime.

Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said, “Deliberately targeting media outlets constitutes a war crime. By intentionally destroying media outlets, the Israel Defence Forces are not only inflicting unacceptable material damage on news operations. They are also, more broadly, obstructing media coverage of a conflict that directly affects the civilian population. We call on the International Criminal Court's prosecutor to determine whether these airstrikes constitute war crimes”.

Hamas denied the allegations put forth by Erdan. “The Israeli occupation's repeated lies about the presence of Hamas offices in Jala Tower is a failed attempt to justify its crime by targeting a civilian tower that houses media offices and international television channels," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told the BBC.

The recent conflict, which began after weeks of spiralling Israeli-Palestinian tension in occupied East Jerusalem, took the lives of 256 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel. The fierce conflict lasted for 11 days.

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