Hamas knew Islamic Jihad rocket misfired, decided to hide what happened, inflated number of casualties: IDF

Israel has accused Hamas of purposely misleading international media outlets by claiming a failed rocket launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip that killed some 500 people. In a briefing to international media, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari read out a translated transcript of an intercepted call between two Hamas operatives, in which they were heard talking about the failed Islamic Jihad rocket that hit the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, following a barrage launched from a cemetery in Gaza. “According to our intelligence, Hamas checked the reports, understood it was an Islamic Jihad rocket that had misfired, and decided to launch a global media campaign to hide what really happened,” Hagari said. “They went as far as to inflate the number of casualties,” the IDF spokesman added.

I can confirm, that an analysis of the IDF operational systems indicates, that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al-Ahli Al-Mahdi hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit >> pic.twitter.com/OcyuDHJGF8

— דובר צה״ל אפי דפרין - Effie Defrin (@IDFSpokesperson) October 17, 2023

Hagari further said, “Hamas understood with absolute certainty that it was a rocket misfired by Islamic Jihad that damaged the hospital.” He claimed that the rockets were fired from a cemetery behind the hospital. Showing a picture of the hospital’s scorched parking lot, Hagari said the damage to the hospital’s parking lot was caused by the rocket impact and due to the large amount of rocket fuel that was still in the projectile as it fell short. Hagari even said had it been an Israeli airstrike, “we would have seen craters and structural damage to the building, both of which were not identified in this incident.” Earlier in the day, IDF released drone footage that it said proved the blast was not caused by its ordinance. The Israeli military said if it would have attacked the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital it would have left a crater and not a burning parking lot and shrapnel-pocked roof.

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: pic.twitter.com/AvCAkQULAf

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

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A video was also released by IDF on X, formerly Twitter, which showed images of the parking lot of the Gaza hospital where the blast struck, leading to hundreds of casualties. The clip showed a large fire caused in the area as a result of the blast, but there was no crater. The Israeli army said strikes by them generally leave large holes in the ground. The drone footage shared by IDF also pointed to shrapnel that landed on the roof of the nearby buildings, which remain largely intact. With inputs from agencies