JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military said that the killing of hundreds of people at a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement posted on social media X that from the analysis of IDF operational systems, an enemy rocket barrage was carried out towards Israel, "which passed through the vicinity of the hospital when it (the hospital) was hit" by a rocket.

"Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza," the military added.

Palestinian media reported that at least 500 peo

ple were killed in the "Israeli airstrikes," while the Palestinian Authority announced three days of mourning.

Earlier, local eyewitnesses told Xinhua that a rocket hit the hospital, sending a huge explosion through its premises.

They rushed to the place a few minutes later and saw hundreds of killed people on the ground, said the sources.

According to the Gaza-based Health Ministry, the hospital was housing hundreds of sick and wounded and sheltering thousands of displaced civilians who were forced to flee their homes due to constant Israeli attacks.