The Gaza Hospital Blast Risks Widening the War and Fueling Radicalism

Regardless of who's to blame for the Gaza hospital blast, the United States will continue to back Israel's military campaign against Hamas, but this will weaken Washington's hand in preventing regional escalation and popular unrest that will also threaten to reinvigorate radical groups. On Oct. 17, international media reported a deadly blast at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, with Gaza-based health officials claiming that hundreds had been killed in a potential Israeli airstrike on the hospital. Israel quickly denied it had struck the hospital, and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soon went public with information that suggested an errant rocket from Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) may have hit the building, an assessment reportedly backed by U.S. intelligence. Nevertheless, Hamas rapidly called for regional protests in response to the blast, while Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates blamed the tragedy on an Israeli...