A wounded Palestinian arrives at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza following a deadly explosion at the nearby Al Ahli Hospital. Photo: Reuters/Mohammed Al-Masri

Israel asserted on Tuesday that an explosion at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City that killed and wounded hundreds was caused by a rocket fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group.

According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, more than 500 civilians were killed in the explosion. Hamas blamed the explosion on an Israeli air strike.

Israeli officials moved quickly to deny the Hamas claim.

“An analysis of [Israel Defense Force] 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,” the Israeli military said in a statement. “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.”

In an interview with BBC News, Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that “at the time of this tragedy in Gaza, there was a huge barrage against targets in central Israel.”

Regev added: “We know they fired rockets at that same time. Hamas put out a statement that they were sending a long-range rocket on Haifa at this time. Now no rocket actually reached Haifa. Where did that rocket go? Where did it land?”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that around 7pm local time on Tuesday, Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired a rocket salvo towards Israel and that the IDF was not conducting any operations in the area at the time of the hospital explosion.

During the conflict between Israel and Hamas in 2021, Israeli military analysts estimated that 15 percent of all terrorist rockets fired from Gaza fell short of their intended targets in Israel, landing instead  in the Gaza Strip and frequently killing Palestinian civilians.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh claimed in a speech on Tuesday in the Qatari capital Doha, where he is based, that the explosion at the Al Ahli Hospital was evidence of Israeli “genocide” against the Palestinians. 

The UAE and Russia on Tuesday called for an emergency UN Security Council session following the explosion.