Livestream footage claims to prove rocket fired from Gaza killed hundreds at hospital

18 October 2023, 17:41 | Updated: 18 October 2023, 22:34

An Israeli TV station has released footage that they claim provides "proof" that the missile that hit a hospital in Gaza City was fired from within the territory.

Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza claimed at least 500 people, including women and children, were killed when a rocket hit the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on Tuesday evening. The group blamed an Israeli air strike, which Israel vehemently denied.

Israel said it was a misfired rocket launched by terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who themselves denied responsibility. The Israel Defence Force (IDF) released images and audio that it claimed showed it was not responsible.

The death toll of the strike has not been independently confirmed.

A clip streamed live on Israeli TV by Keshet 12 News on Wednesday appears to show a series of missiles being launched into the night sky, seconds before the explosion at the hospital.

TV presenter Yonit Levy said: "This is proof of Israel's claims that it was actually missiles from the Gaza Strip shot in the direction of the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City."

Read more: Joe Biden describes the 'shock, pain and rage' of Hamas attack on Israel and compares it to 'fifteen 9/11s'

Read more: 'The smell of the dead is everywhere': Inside the aftermath of the Gaza hospital explosion that killed hundreds

Israeli army denies involvement in Gaza hospital blast

The footage has not been independently verified.

The Israeli army earlier released surveillance images of the hospital compound, saying it showed the failed launch site nearby which it claims triggered the blast.

And it released audio on Wednesday morning which it says contains admissions by Hamas that Islamic Jihad was responsible for the explosion.

A spokesperson for the military, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, said: "We have intelligence... of communication between terrorists talking about rockets misfiring.

Biden lands in Israel as Middle East turmoil grows following Gaza hospital blast

"The terrorists realise that the rocket has misfired and make specific reference to the al-Ahli hospital."

He translates the alleged conversation, with terrorists surprised about the missile, saying it was fired from a cemetery behind the hospital but that it "misfired and fell on them".

The US government said that based on its own intelligence it did not currently think Israel was responsible for the tragedy.

A spokesperson for the White House said on Wednesday afternoon: "While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday."

Earlier Joe Biden said on a visit to Israel that he was “outraged and saddened” by the explosion. He said he thought Israel was not to blame and that the evidence at present points to “a rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza".

Earlier he said the hospital blast appeared to have been caused by the "other team" as he met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rishi Sunak told MPs not to 'rush to judgment' about the disaster yesterday, with British intelligence services working to make their own assessment over who is to blame.

The hospital was used to shelter people amid Israeli attacks on the strip. It's thought around 1,000 people may have been sheltering in the compound.

Israel's enemies, such as the Iranian government and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have blamed it for the deaths despite the IDF's denials.