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Toronto (October 22, 2023) - In a statement issued last night, Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) declared that independent analysis by its Canadian Forces Intelligence Command indicates "with a high degree of confidence" that the Oct. 17 hospital explosion in Gaza was caused by an errant rocket within the Palestinian territory, not by an Israeli airstrike.

"This assessment is informed by an analysis of the blast damage to the hospital complex, including adjacent buildings and the area surrounding the hospital, as well as the flight pattern of the incoming munition," the statement said.

Shortly after the blast last Tuesday, in a rush to judgment based solely on a false accusation by Hamas, international media and many governments blamed Israel for the explosion. Although Israel presented evidence to the contrary, much of the world refused to accept it, feeding virulent anti-Israel protests in many countries and a spike in antisemitism.

Previous to Canada’s DND statement, other countries – including the United States and France – and major international media outlets – including Associated Press and CNN – after conducting extensive forensic analysis and consulting with weapons and explosives experts, concluded a misfired Palestinian rocket was the most probable cause for the blast.  

Canada’s DND update comes two days after Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) joined CIJA and B'nai Brith Canada in issuing a joint statement calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to retract and clarify his Oct. 17 comments in response to the hospital blast "that can only be interpreted as giving credence to the false narrative of the Hamas terror group."

FSWC thanks the Canadian Department of National Defence and Armed Forces for their important analysis and urges Prime Minister Trudeau to address the findings directly with the Canadian people, set the record straight and ease the tensions online and on the streets of Canada that have contributed to a disturbing rise in antisemitic incidents and greatly heightened concerns for the safety of the Jewish community.

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