North Korea says Israel bombed Gaza hospital, calls US 'accomplice'

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's foreign ministry accused Israel of bombing a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Oct 17., saying it had openly committed a war crime "under the undisguised patronage of the United States".

In a statement carried on state-run news agency KCNA, a ministry spokesman also blamed the United States for "giving Israel a green light to massacre Palestinians without any worries" by supplying it with weapons and military support, including deploying aircraft carriers in the Middle East.

"This shows that the U.S. is an accomplice who connived at and fostered Israel's genocide," the spokesman said. The foreign ministry statement did not give any evidence to support its comments.

North Korean state media has often argued against Western views, especially those of the United States, on international issues. It also routinely lashes out at the United States.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said 471 people were killed in a blast at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital earlier this month. Palestinians and Arab states said an Israeli air strike hit the hospital.

Israel said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by Hamas, a Palestinian militant Islamic Jihad group, which has denied responsibility.

A U.S. official said on Tuesday that U.S. intelligence officials have "high confidence" that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian rocket that broke up mid-flight, and not by Israel.

There is still uncertainty around the death toll from the hospital blast and the number of injuries, U.S. officials said.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Ed Davies and Miral Fahmy)