Hamas, which has claimed without evidence that Israel is behind the blast at a Gaza hospital that the terrorist group said left hundreds dead, says any remnants of the munition can't be examined because they vanished entirely.
"The missile has dissolved like salt in the water," Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas official, told the New York Times on Sunday. "It’s vaporized. Nothing is left."
After Ahli Arab hospital was hit by a weapon last week, Hamas immediately blamed Israel and claimed the blast left more than 450 people dead. Israel, however, provided evidence, including the lack of structural damage at the hospital and intercepted Hamas communications, that indicates the blast was caused not by an Israeli airstrike but by a misfired rocket from the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad. Israel's assessment has been affirmed by U.S. intelligence and other Western countries that reviewed the evidence. Israel has also disputed the high death toll claimed by Hamas.
Gazan officials have provided no evidence that Israel is behind the blast, the Times reported:
On Sunday, Hamas turned down requests by The Times to view any available evidence of the munition it said had struck the hospital, claiming that it had disintegrated beyond recognition.
Salama Maroof, the head of the Hamas-run government media office, said in a text message: "Who says we’re obligated to present the remnants of every rocket that kills our people? In general, you can come and research and confirm for yourself from the evidence we possess."
Four military and munitions experts who spoke to NBC News last week agreed that the blast was not caused by an Israeli strike. One said "remnants of the munition recovered from the rubble" could confirm which party is responsible.