State Department Allows for Lowering of Flags Over Hospital Blast

State Department building in Washington on July 27, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The State Department has authorized the halfway lowering of flags at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide in the aftermath of a hospital blast in Gaza—the first time the Biden administration has authorized the lowering of flags amid the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, according to a department cable obtained by The Epoch Times.

The Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza was bombed on Oct. 17.  News outlets, politicians, and others were quick to rush and place blame on Israel for being behind the attack, citing the Palestinians. However, subsequent images and video showed that Israel was not behind the bombing, and President Joe Biden said it looked like Israel was not at fault. The number of casualties is unclear as Gaza’s health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, is known to be an unreliable source.

The lowering of flags is not mandatory.

However, according to the cable, “Chiefs of Mission are authorized to lower flags to half-staff to observe national periods of mourning following an official proclamation by the host government with respect to the loss of innocent lives at the Al Ahli hospital blast ... In reaching a decision, Missions should consider whether not honoring the period of mourning would expose the U.S. Mission to added security risk and/or isolate the U.S. Mission vis-à-vis like-minded embassies.”

The cable stated that the U.S. posts “should state in public statements the decision to fly the flag at half-staff is solely to mourn the loss of innocent lives.”

The flags may be lowered halfway for up to three days “or in accordance with recognized customs.”

U.S. diplomatic and consular outposts “should review the specific language of the host government’s call for the observance of national mourning,” stated the cable. This language includes whether the host country is mourning innocent lives lost, mourning Hamas and supporting terrorism, or condemning Israel.

“Missions may still elect to observe the period of mourning but must issue a public statement that the U.S. Mission is lowering its flag to mourn the loss of innocent lives, and not for any other reason,” according to the cable.

At least one U.S. embassy has lowered the American flag in the aftermath of the hospital bombing. The embassy in Jordan has done so, according to an official post on X, formerly Twitter.

Thousands of people have died in the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched rockets and invaded Israel, killing innocent civilians and taking people hostage. In response, Israel has launched an aerial military operation on Gaza and the Jewish state is expected to launch a ground invasion of Gaza in the coming days.

The Biden administration did not order the lowering of flags in response to the Oct. 7 attacks.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller defended the cable.

“Embassies can make decisions consistent with long-standing State Department policy and State Department regulation to decide to lower their flag when a state of mourning has been declared in that country. There are other considerations that go into that, but that’s one of them, that embassies can consider,” he said in response to a question from The Epoch Times during the Oct. 19 department press briefing.

He noted that Israel did not declare a national day of mourning, and therefore, there was no lowering of the flags.

Mr. Miller said that the department mourns “the loss of the innocent civilians who died in that explosion at the hospital just as we mourn the loss of 1,300 Israeli civilians in a deadly terrorist attack by Hamas.”