A Canadian official report concluded that Israel is not responsible for the bombing of the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital “Baptist” in Gaza. It is likely that it resulted from a rocket fired from Gaza that missed its target, based on an analysis of classified and open-source reports.

The Canadian Department of National Defence stated in a statement that “the analysis conducted by the Canadian Armed Forces intelligence branch independently indicates with a high degree of confidence that Israel did not bomb the Al-Ahli hospital on October 17, 2023.”

Canada explained that its assessment is guided by an analysis of the damage inflicted on the hospital complex, neighboring buildings, and the surrounding area in addition to the flight pattern of the incoming munitions.

The findings reached by Canada match the conclusions drawn by France and the United States as well.

On the other hand, the French military intelligence agency stated on Friday that the explosion that occurred in a hospital in Gaza was not due to an Israeli rocket strike but was likely caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.

The French military intelligence agency added, "There is nothing to allow us to say it was an Israeli strike, but the most likely (scenario) is that it was a Palestinian rocket that malfunctioned upon launch."

A French military intelligence official stated that "the nature of the explosion and communications with other partners in the intelligence field lead me to confirm that there is no evidence of an Israeli strike. The most probable hypothesis is a Palestinian rocket that exploded with a charge of about five kilograms."

The agency decided to publish its analyses at the request of the French presidency for the sake of transparency, according to its statement. It identified a gap rather than a crater that is one meter long, 75 centimeters wide, and 30 to 40 centimeters deep.

It clarified that "about five kilograms of explosive materials are required to produce this effect, certainly less than ten kilograms."

The official emphasized that "the hypothesis of an Israeli bomb or missile is not possible, because the explosive charge for such types of weapons is no less than 250 kilograms. A rocket of this kind would have created a much larger crater." He pointed out the "consistency of a five-kilogram charge with the missiles in the possession of Palestinians or those they manufacture."

Palestinian officials stated that 471 people were killed in the explosion that targeted the Baptist hospital last Tuesday. The Gaza Ministry of Health accused Israel of being responsible for the attack, while Israel said the explosion resulted from a rocket fired by militants that missed its target.

Israel is intensifying its bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, where Palestinian sources reported on Sunday that at least 80 Palestinians were killed in overnight raids. The sources indicated that Israeli warplanes launched dozens of strikes on residential neighborhoods and civilian sites in various areas of the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza Ministry of Interior reported that at least 12 people were killed due to Israeli shelling targeting a cafe in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Strip. Medics and rescue workers also reported retrieving nine bodies from the rubble of a house that was destroyed in an Israeli raid in Beit Lahiya in the north of the Strip.

The head of the Government Media Office in Gaza, Salama Maarouf, stated during a press conference last night in Gaza that Israel's ongoing attacks for the third week have led to the displacement of about 1.4 million people, half of whom are in UN-sponsored shelters.

Maarouf clarified that 164,000 housing units were targeted, of which 15,100 were destroyed, while around 139,000 housing units sustained partial damage, including 10,656 units that are uninhabitable.

He added that 67 government facilities and dozens of public and service utilities were destroyed by Israeli attacks, causing significant damage, while 176 schools sustained various damages, 30 of which are out of service.