The Israel Defense Forces said intelligence shows a Palestinian Islamic Jihad group is responsible for the “failed rocket launch” that struck a Gaza hospital Tuesday, killing hundreds of people, according to Palestinian officials.
The IDF said a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza toward Israel passed near the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza when it was hit.
“An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit,” IDF posted to its Telegram account.
“Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza,” it added.
A spokesman for the IDF has "categorically” denied that Israel was involved in the bombardment of the hospital.
“I can say now for the first time on CNN is that we did not strike that, and that the intelligence that we have suggests that it was a failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad, and I want to add categorically, that we do not intentionally strike any sensitive facilities, any sensitive facilities and definitely not hospitals," Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said.
“We are very much aware of the presence of civilians and we are all too aware of the cynical manipulation that Hamas seeks to do by using civilians exactly for these purposes and we have seen that all over the many years of conflict that we've had with Hamas and more so during this war, they have no boundaries," he added.
Further, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement that the IDF “did not conduct any operations” in the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital area at the time it was bombed.
Palestinian officials have said the hospital was hit in an Israeli strike, adding that between 200 to 300 people were killed, citing preliminary estimates.
CNN’s Martin Goillandeau and Tamar Michaelis contributed reporting to this post.