Tlaib and Omar face backlash as they keep blaming Israel for Gaza hospital deaths

Members of the progressive House “Squad” have not backed down from blaming Israel for a deadly strike on a Christian hospital in Gaza, even after President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials affirmed evidence that the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket from Hamas.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) repeated her assertions at a protest at the Capitol on Wednesday.

ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE RELEASES AUDIO OF HAMAS DISCUSSING ‘MISFIRED’ HOSPITAL STRIKE: ‘IT’S FROM US?’

“We continue to watch people say it’s OK to bomb a hospital,” she said. “We are literally watching people commit genocide and killing a vast majority just like this.”

The Israeli military has released audio of what it said was a call between Hamas officials that it claims is proof Israel was not to blame for the deadly bombing of a Gaza hospital.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson also posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday, “While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday.”

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) also said they reviewed intelligence related to the explosion and feel “confident” Israel was not responsible.

“Based on this information, we feel confident that the explosion was the result of a failed rocket launch by militant terrorists and not the result of an Israeli airstrike,” Warner and Rubio said in a statement.

The backlash has been swift, with Republicans condemning the Squad for their role in spreading disinformation about the Al-Ahi Arab Hospital.

“It is appalling and unacceptable that Democrats in Congress partook in Hamas’ misinformation campaign which falsely accused the Israel Defense Forces of bombing a hospital in Gaza,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in a statement. “Rep. Tlaib and her radical colleagues helped spread this insidious lie far and wide, without remorse, and as of this morning have yet to take down their posts, issue an apology, or place blame on the actual perpetrators with the same conviction.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee also slammed the progressive lawmakers, noting their Tuesday social media posts remained live.

“What do you call it when you rush to pin the blame for atrocities on Israel, but go silent when the facts point to the terrorists? Anti-Semitism,” said Will Reinert, a national press secretary with the House GOP campaign arm.

Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) condemned the strike immediately after it happened, placing the blame on Israel, despite contradictory claims from Israeli and Palestinian officials. Hamas, the terrorist organization that is the de facto government of the Gaza Strip, immediately accused Israel of being behind it.

“Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that,” Tlaib posted on X at 2 p.m. Tuesday. The Palestinian American congresswoman then blamed Biden for not helping “to facilitate a ceasefire.”

“Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many Palestinian Americans and Muslims Americans like me,” she added. “We will remember where you stood.”

Omar also slammed Biden for not pushing for “an immediate ceasefire.”

“Bombing a hospital is among the gravest of war crimes,” Omar posted on X. “The IDF reportedly blowing up one of the few places the injured and wounded can seek medical treatment and shelter during a war is horrific. [President Joe Biden] needs to push for an immediate ceasefire to end this slaughter.”

Tlaib chastised Biden on Wednesday and told pro-Palestinian protesters they were on the “right side of history.”

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Comments from the left-wing group of Democrats, who are generally more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, have sparked internal clashes with more pro-Israel members of the Democratic caucus.