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 If truth is the first casualty of war, then speculation must be its bouncing first-born. When a devastating, lethal fire broke out last Tuesday evening in the Anglican-owned al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City, most leapt to the conclusion that it was the result of an Israeli air strike. After all, Israel had been bombing residential areas of the Gaza strip for days. Israel Defence Force chiefs had ordered the evacuation south of all buildings in the city, including specifically its hospital. Israel's immediate denials were weighed against her record of deceit. Foremost in this was the accusation that Islamist militants had killed the Christian TV journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, a lie which Israeli leaders maintained until hard evidence emerged that the fatal bullet came from the rifle of an Israeli sniper.

However, BBC Verify was able to piece together evidence, not just from Israeli sources (BBC is rigorous in not basing its reports on single sources), that the fireball was unlikely to have resulted from a bomb drop or missile strike, since there was no significant crater. The colossal fire damage was consistent with the spread of burning rocket propellant augmented by the fuel in cars parked in the hospital grounds. Israel's assertion that a rocket launched from a nearby Palestine Islamic Jihad site had failed seemed plausible. This was backed up by President Biden, relying on evidence from US security services - presumably stills and/or videos from satellite surveillance.

In the face of this uncertainty, Al-Jazeera TV's continued reporting as fact that the hospital disaster was the result of an Israeli air strike is perverse and certainly a fall from its generally high standards of news reporting. (Its online journalism has been more nuanced.) Could this blatant bias be the result of political interference by the Qatari owners of the news organisation? Generally, the Emir has been commendably hands-off. Al-Jazeera was even able to broadcast a documentary on the harsh conditions experienced by expatriates working on the football world cup stadiums - though admittedly it did not receive many airings. Perhaps the explanation is the presence in Doha of Hamas leaders and their personal relationship with the Emir.

If, as seems possible, fragments of whatever munition initiated the al-Ahli explosion are found and examined by independent experts then the true origin may be determined. Whatever, the outcome, Israel still does not come out of this well. Those hundreds of Palestinians killed or injured in the explosion would not have been taking shelter within the confines of the hospital if they had not already been, or feared they would be, bombed out of their homes by the Israeli Air Force. Nor, to be even-handed, does the body responsible for establishing a rocket launch site within a crowded city.