Israel gives info to US about Gaza building strike

PTI, May 18, 2021, 7:03 PM IST

Reykjavik: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Israel has given the United States information about its bombing of a Gaza building housing The Associated Press and other media outlets.

Israel had claimed that Hamas had a military intelligence office in the Gaza building which it levelled in a weekend airstrike. But Israel has not publicly provided any evidence backing up that claim.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would share any evidence of Hamas’ presence in the targeted building through intelligence channels.

Blinken said from Iceland on Tuesday that ”we have received some further information through intelligence channels.”

He declined to characterize the material, saying ”that’s not something I can comment on.”

Press freedom groups condemned the attack, which levelled the building and marked a new chapter in the already rocky relationship between the Israeli military and the international media.

AP President Gary Pruitt has called for an independent investigation into the attack.