The Israeli Army has assured that the explosion that caused the death of 500 Palestinians in a Gaza hospital was due to a failed rocket launch by militants of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group towards Israel, while Hamas authorities accuse Israel of the attack.

An Israeli Army spokesman said: “Multiple intelligence sources indicate that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed launch of the rocket that hit the hospital.”

The terrorists fired a volley of rockets near the hospital

“An analysis of the Israeli Army’s operational systems indicates that terrorists fired a volley of rockets in Gaza that passed very close to Al Ahli Hospital at the time it was hit,” according to an Israeli military spokesman in a statement.

Shortly after, the same source noted that “after new investigations and cross-analysis, it is clear that the Israel Defense Forces did not bomb the hospital in Gaza.”

A military statement has also denounced that “terrorist organizations inside the Gaza Strip fire indiscriminately towards Israel” and detailed that, since the beginning of this war 11 days ago, “approximately 450 rockets launched towards Israel fell into Gaza, endangering and harming the lives of its residents.”

2,000 civilians took refuge in the hospital

Some 2,000 civilians were taking refuge in the health center, belonging to the Anglican Church and in the center of Gaza City, when An explosion killed at least 500 peoples in what is the largest massacre in the Strip after five wars between Palestinian militias and Israel since 2008.

The Islamist movement Hamas, which de facto controls the enclave, accused the Israeli Army of perpetrating a “horrible massacre” that “left hundreds of victims in a crime of genocide.”

For its part, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), with limited power in the occupied West Bank, also accused Israel of committing “a horrible crime in a genocidal war,” and its prime minister, Mohamed Shtayeh, urged the Security Council of the UN to end the conflict, and criticized “the countries that support Israel.”

The Israeli Army intends to prove that it did not cause the bombing

The Israeli army is going to provide “evidence” this morning that the bomb that exploded in a Gaza hospital caused up to 500 deaths.

The Russian government is urging Israel to present satellite images demonstrating the version it is offering.