Israeli Official Soft Pedals Army Chief Remarks on Bombing AP Gaza Offices

JERUSALEM - Israel's defense minister on Monday distanced himself from comments made by his military chief after Israel bombed a Gaza Strip high-rise housing an Associated Press office and other news outlets, saying the remarks were not meant to be taken literally.

In an article published on the website of Channel 12 news over the weekend, the military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, was quoted as saying that "the building was destroyed justly" and he did not have a "gram of regret." The article claimed that the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza used various floors of the Jalaa Tower for "significant electronic warfare" meant to disrupt Israeli air force GPS communications. The article then said Kohavi had told "a foreign source" that AP journalists drank coffee each morning in a cafeteria in the building's entrance with Hamas electronics experts, whether they knew it or not.