Israeli Ambassador Says It’s Likely AP Was Not Aware Hamas Was Operating in Office Building

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Israeli ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Gilad Erdan said Wednesday that it was likely the Associated Press was not aware that Hamas was operating in the building that once housed its Gaza offices.

“I can also tell you that as a state, we don’t have information as to whether AP knew or did not know that Hamas was operating in that building, because the unit that was operating there was a secret unit,” Erdan said in an interview with an Israeli news outlet.

“It can be said it’s more likely they were not aware of the existence of Hamas in the building,” he said.

On Saturday, Israel bombed a 12-story building in Gaza that housed offices of the Associated Press and Al Jazeera. Israel has claimed that Hamas was operating in the building; workers in the offices of those media outlets were given an hour heads up to evacuate.

“The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today,” AP president and CEO Gary Pruitt said after the strike.

Ambassador Erdan said in the interview — with Israeli outlet Kan radio — that he met with Pruitt to explain the decision-making that went into striking the building.

“The State of Israel is a country where freedom of press is a clear value, and I explained that to AP’s president, Gary Pruitt, who I met this evening,” according to a translation of the interview obtained by Mediaite.

“I think that we explained to him that such decisions of shelling terrorist military targets are not made lightly in Israel. There is an orderly process that also goes through legal consultations. They check that it conforms with international law, and that it is indeed a military target, and I think he showed understanding, and even appreciated the fact that an early alert was given.”

The claim from Israel that Hamas was present in the building prompted questions for the Associated Press from the likes of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), who suggested the news outlet could have been aware it was working in the same building as the Palestinian militant group.

Erdan argued it was unlikely the Associated Press was aware Hamas was operating in the building:

Of course, I understand their feelings as a news agency going through an experience like this. I can also tell you that as a state, we don’t have information as to whether AP knew or did not know that Hamas was operating in that building, because the unit that was operating there was a secret unit. It can be said it’s more likely they were not aware of the existence of Hamas in the building. Again, I hope my meeting with AP’s president somewhat contributed to the re-setting of relations between Israel and the agency, because there was nothing personal here against it of course, and we neutralized there a very very significant target.

The AP’s top editor Sally Buzbee called for an independent investigation into the strike on the Gaza building.

On Wednesday, a senior Israeli military official told CNN that the building held the electronic department of Hamas. United States officials have asked Israel for evidence supporting the claim that the group was indeed operating there.