The Government released the information late on a Saturday night, and Justin Trudeau still has not spoken on it, giving every indication the Prime Minister is still trying to downplay the egregious error he and top Liberal cabinet officials made in spreading Hamas propaganda.
The Canadian Government has finally acknowledged what everybody else knew many days ago: Israel did NOT strike a hospital in Gaza. Rather, a rocket – obviously fired by Palestinian terrorists – hit the hospital.
In two statements – one by the Minister of National Defence, and one by the Department of National Defence – finally brought Canada in line with our allies like the United States:
Bill Blair statement
“The Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Bill Blair, issued the following statement:
“Canada is deeply saddened by the loss of life caused by the explosion at Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza on October 17, 2023. We reiterate our sincere condolences to all those who lost loved ones.
“In order to determine what happened, the Prime Minister asked me to task the Canadian Armed Forces with preparing an independent review and analysis of the explosion. The Canadian Forces Intelligence Command (CFINTCOM) undertook that review and analysis. Today, after briefing the Prime Minister, I am releasing its findings.
“Analysis conducted independently by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command indicates with a high degree of confidence that Israel did not strike the hospital on October 17, 2023. The more likely scenario is that the strike was caused by an errant rocket fired from Gaza. We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.”
Department of National Defence statement
“Analysis conducted independently by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command indicates with a high degree of confidence that Israel did not strike the al-Ahli hospital on 17 October 2023. Based on analysis of open source and classified reporting, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces assess that the strike was more likely caused by an errant rocket fired from Gaza. 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. Reporting from Canada’s allies corroborates DND/CAF’s findings. We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.”
Weasels
Now that the government has finally acknowledged what has long been known, the weaselly way in which they have done so must be examined.
They released the info late on a Saturday night, through a Tweet by the Minister of National Defence.
No statement by the Prime Minister.
No statement by the Foreign Affairs Minsiter.
No press conference.
No big announcement.
No apology for believing and spreading Hamas propaganda.
No apology to Israel.
No apology to the United States for not quickly backing up U.S. intel (something made worse by the fact that Canada has far fewer intelligence capabilities than the U.S. and we likely relied almost entirely upon U.S. intel to reach the same conclusion the U.S. reached many days ago).
No apology to the Jewish Community for the way in which the Canadian government spread Hamas propaganda – propaganda that has led to a massive surge of hate, threats, and violence towards Jewish People both in Canada and around the world.
No, the government released this in the quietest way possible.
Thus, even in finally sharing the truth and doing the right thing, they did so in the worst way possible, and they did so far too late.
Spencer Fernando
