Gaza hospital strike: French intelligence points at Palestinian rocket as cause of blast

French military intelligence has indicated that the most likely cause of the deadly blast at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza which allegedly killed hundreds on Tuesday was a Palestinian rocket and not an Israeli airstrike. According to a report by the news agency Associated Press, a senior military official said on Friday (Oct 20) that this Palestinian rocket carried an explosive charge of about five kilogrammes and possibly misfired.

The official, who chose to remain anonymous, said that several rockets in Hamas' arsenal carry explosive charges of about that weight including an Iranian-made rocket and another that is Palestinian-made.

None of their intelligence pointed to an Israeli strike, the official added. The intelligence assessment was based on classified information, satellite imagery, intelligence shared by other countries, and open-source information, as per the official.

Israel denies involvement in hospital blast

Israel has denied involvement in the hospital blast and released a live video, audio, and other evidence it said showed that the blast was caused by a rocket misfired by Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group. Islamic Jihad has denied responsibility for the explosion, the Associated Press report said.

Gaza officials had blamed an Israeli airstrike for the explosion. The officials said that the hospital housed hundreds of wounded and sick people, and civilians who had sought refuge.

The death toll also remains in dispute. Within just over an hour of the blast, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said 500 had died. It then revised that number slightly to 471 on Wednesday, without giving details of the dead. Israel, meanwhile said that the toll was inflated.

The French military intelligence official also said on Friday, “We don’t see at all that a rocket that size could have produced 471 dead. It is not possible.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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