The Israeli army released a before and after photo of the Gaza hospital bombing
The Israeli military claimed that their weapons, especially rockets, were powerful and created craters at the point of impact.
People stand in front of the bodies of Palestinians killed in an explosion at the Al Arab Hospital in central Gaza.
New Delhi: Hamas and Israel traded accusations after an explosion at a hospital in the war-torn Gaza Strip killed more than 500 people. Although Hamas claims that the explosion was caused by an Israeli missile, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that they were not involved in the attack. The Israeli military blamed Palestinian militants, saying an Islamic Jihad rocket that had taken over had been misfired. In support of its claim, Israel released a series of videos of the explosion, one of which showed the hospital and its surroundings before and after the missile hit.
"A failed Islamic Jihad rocket launch hit Al ahli Hospital in Gaza City. IAF footage of the area around the hospital before and after a failed Islamic Jihad rocket launch," the IDF said while sharing the video.
The video shows the building burst into flames after the rocket landed in the hospital parking lot. The Israeli military claimed that their weapons, especially rockets, were powerful and created craters at the point of impact.
They said there are no visible craters near the hospital, and even the building does not appear to have suffered major damage.
Asked to explain the extent of the explosion, Israel's top military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said it was consistent with the ignition of unused rocket fuel. "Most of that damage would be caused by the propellant, not just the warhead," he said.
Hagar also accused Hamas of inflating the death toll from the explosion, saying it did not know what caused the explosion so quickly.
According to Gaza health officials, nearly 500 people were killed in the explosion at the Ahli Arab Hospital. Chaos reigned on the ground as the dead and injured were taken to nearby health centers.
Scores of corpses wrapped in bloodstained sheets and white plastic covered the floors of Al Shifa Hospital. Stunned loved ones tried to identify their loved ones.
Tensions were high after the explosion, and Arab leaders canceled a summit with US President Joe Biden, who landed in Israel today.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates condemned the attack and blamed it on Israel.
Gaza health officials said before Tuesday's blast that at least 3,000 people had been killed in an 11-day Israeli bombardment that began after an Oct. 7 Hamas attack on communities in southern Israel killed 1,400 and took about 200 hostages in Gaza.
The fighting has raised fears of an escalating war in the Middle East. The United States has sent aircraft carriers to support Israel, while Hamas allies, including Iran and Tehran's Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, have vowed to respond to a planned Israeli ground attack on Gaza.
While the Israeli military blamed a "rocket fired" by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israel was behind the bombing of the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital.
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