The NYT reports:Disputed Blast in Gaza Kills 5
Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, initially blamed an Israeli airstrike for the blast, and it fired a hail of rockets and mortar rounds at Israeli towns and villages around the Gaza periphery.
But the Israeli military vehemently denied any involvement in the explosion, saying that it had not been active in the area at the time.
A spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said later that the group would carry out an investigation, a tacit acknowledgment that the blast could have been caused by explosives being handled by militants in the house.
In a speech on Thursday evening for the anniversary of Hamas’s takeover of Gaza, the Hamas leader there, Ismail Haniya, made no mention of the explosion in Beit Lahiya, strengthening the supposition that it was an internal affair.
Snapped Shot also observed some honesty in the AP report on the explosion:
Is it possible that the press is finally showing some good, old-fashioned restraint in its Middle East reporting? Perhaps letting the facts on the ground tell the story, rather than shoe-horning events into some traditionally awful anti-Western viewpoint? Or perhaps that members of our esteemed media establishments have finally noticed that Hamas is a rather brutal, totally corrupt regime?
Media sources a bit farther to the left are leading with the Hamas claims, but they are acknowledging reports that an “internal explosion” could be responsible, too.
And if Israel’s getting fair treatment, he suggests that maybe Israel is doing a better job of hasbara:
Maybe this means, instead, that the Israeli military finally putting some actual effort into getting its official storyline out to the media in a timely manner.
The Muqata illustrates his post with pictures from a Palestinian source and observes wryly:
With over 50 rockets hitting Southern Israel today, I’m rather underwhelmed by the destruction in Gaza.
My suspicion is that internal explosions (work accidents) would have different patterns of destruction from external explosions (missile attacks) and that the pictures (especially this one) would show conclusively the source of the explosion.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
Haaretz has now reported that Hamas has reported that it was a “workplace” accident. Unfortunately (all too typical) the clarification has not made it to the main stream news outlets yet.