‘We did not intentionally strike any hospital,’ IDF official says

A massive blast occurred Tuesday at a hospital in Gaza
An Israeli Defense Forces official said the situation is under investigation
Gaza and Israel are pointing fingers at one another

Katie Smith, Connell McShane

Updated: Oct 17, 2023 / 07:03 PM CDT

(NewsNation) — An Israeli Defense Forces official says Israel didn’t intentionally strike a hospital in Gaza.

IDF Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told NewsNation he could neither confirm nor deny whether Israeli troops hit a hospital in Gaza during an airstrike, adding the situation was under investigation early Tuesday evening.

Hundreds of Palestinians had taken refuge in al-Ahli and other hospitals in Gaza City in the past days after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.

A massive blast at the hospital killed 500 people Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

“We did not intentionally strike any hospital,” Conricus said. “That I can say categorically.”

Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, but Israeli military officials said the hospital was hit by a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket.

“The only thing true about what’s happening is probably the fact that there are many Palestinians dead in that hospital,” Conricus said. “What happened is still unclear, and blaming it on Israel before that is verified I think is the wrong thing to do.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.