(LibertySons.org) – President Joe Biden is once again facing criticism for comments he made about Hamas during a recent press interaction at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Stopping to speak with reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from a visit to Israel, he suggested that the recent bombing of al-Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip was more likely a result of incompetence than willful destruction.
“I’m not suggesting that Hamas deliberately did it,” he pointed out. “It’s that old thing: Gotta learn how to shoot straight.” Pausing, he then added that it wasn’t the first time for the militant group to fail during an attempt to cause harm.
The deadly explosion occurred in the courtyard of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital around 7 p.m. on October 17, 2023. At the time, the facility served as a protective shelter for the infirm, the ill, and thousands of displaced Palestinian residents seeking refuge from ongoing airstrikes. Eye witness reports state that the initial blast quickly morphed into a fiery inferno, leaving multiple people injured and several hundred others dead.
Hamas initially blamed Israel for the airstrike. However, Israeli forces vehemently denied the accusation and immediately began working to identify the culprit.
Exactly who was responsible and why they targeted the hospital remains a source of intense debate, both in the Middle East and here on home soil. The Israeli government is now pointing the finger at a Hamas-led group called the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, citing intercepted communications as evidence of their claim. A recent statement from the president appears to at least concur that Israel was not responsible for the blast.
Biden’s comments on the matter immediately ignited a firestorm of complaints. Some called it tone-deaf to the loss of lives stemming from the incident. Others felt the joke was a clumsy attempt at making light of the devastation. One Twitter account even accused the president of “giving advice to terrorists.”
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