Arab media is claiming that eight people were killed and several injured in an Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza.
According to another report, four children ages 5-11 were among those killed in a street when the IDF attacked a site where Islamic Jihad terrorists were located in the city of Jabalia, north of Gaza city. Reports also claimed that there were 15 people injured at the scene.
Another Gaza report claimed that a mother and children were killed in Jabalia.
The IDF therefore investigated whether the civilians were killed by an IDF airstrike, or by a failed attempt by Gazan terrorists to fire a rocket at Israeli civilians, which killed Gazan civilians instead.
The IDF investigations revealed that at this stage, the IDF's last attack on Jabalia took place at 6:34p.m., while the explosion which reportedly killed the children took place at 8:30p.m., and was the result of a failed attempt by Islamic Jihad to fire rockets towards Israel.Thus far, out of over 380 rockets fired at Israel, 90 have fallen within Gaza itself.
According to an update by the Head of the Public Diplomacy Directorate, "The failed launch by Islamic Jihad is the cause of the tragic deaths of the children in Jabalia."
"Contrary to Palestinian reports regarding the event in Jabalia, we must make it clear: We have video clips which prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that this was not an Israeli attack. Israeli security forces have not attacked in Jabalia in the past few hours.
"It was proven unambiguously that this was a failed launch of a rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad. With the spread of the reports in Palestinian and international media, a comprehensive investigation was undertaken, which revealed in a clear fashion that this was not an Israeli attack, but rather the result of a rocket being launched from Gaza, which fell in the heart of Jabalia.
"Any fire by the Islamic Jihad terror organization is a double war crime: It fires at civilians, and it uses the residents of Gaza as human shields. This event is an example of the harm the Islamic Jihad does to residents of Gaza. Israel is pained by any harm to innocent people."
The IDF confirmed: "Following the reports of the tragic events in Jabalia, the IDF concluded an in-depth debrief. Based on all the IDF systems data, it appears that this event is the outcome of an Islamic Jihad rocket misfire. We did not conduct any activities in Jabaliya at the time of the event."