The bombing of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the Gaza city amid Irsael-Hamas war was a result of misfired rockets by another Gaza-based militant organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad or PIJ, Israeli Defence Forces or IDF claimed on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, IDF spokesperson Hagari said that after careful review of “evidence”, they have concluded that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group was responsible for the Al Ahli hospital blast.

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“We did an immediate review with all relevant branches of the IDF,” Hagari told reporters, narrating the events that unfolded before the attack.

He said that moments before the hospital blast, a barrage of rockets was fired by Hamas towards Israel at 18:15 local time on Tuesday and nearly 45 minutes later, around 10 more rockets were fired by the PIJ from a nearby cemetery. At the same time, he claimed, the hospital was bombed.

Hagari also claimed to have intelligence that shows communication between militant groups discussing failed rocket launches. A purported conversation between militants was also shared on X by the IDF.

Listen the conversation below:

Islamic Jihad struck a Hospital in Gaza—the IDF did not.

Listen to the terrorists as they realize this themselves: pic.twitter.com/u7WyU8Rxwz

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 18, 2023

The IDF spokesperson accused Hamas of deliberately launching a “global media campaign” to blame Israel for the hospital attack and knew it happened due to misfired PIJ rockets.

“They went as far as inflating the numbers of casualties…They understood with absolute certainty that it was a rocket misfired by Islamic Jihad that damaged the hospital,” he added.

Diving into technicalities of the attack, Hagari also showed some pictures of the blast site and sought to explain why it was not caused by IDF strikes. He said Israeli strikes would have created a “crater” of some sort of structural damage at the site.

Watch video of the blast site shared by IDF

A failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization hit the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City.

IAF footage from the area around the hospital before and after the failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization: /t.co/AvCAkQULAf”>pic.twitter.com/AvCAkQULAf

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 18, 2023

However, he claimed, there was not such damage and “the walls stay intact”. In addition to these claims, Hagari said that Israel’s “radar system” also tracked rockets fired from within Gaza. The Statesman can’t independently vouch for the authenticity of the audio, video evidence shared by IDF.

Hundreds of people are feared dead after a blast rocked the Al Ahli Arab hospital in the Gaza city. Hamas and Palestinian have authorities blamed Israel for the attack, which sparked protests across the West Bank and several major cities around the world. Many world leaders have condemned the attack and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.