Rocket strike hits Gaza City hospital, unconfirmed reports of hundreds dead

Hundreds of people in Gaza City were reportedly killed Tuesday when a rocket or rockets struck a hospital, but the number of confirmed victims and who launched the strike remains unclear. 

The Health Ministry run by Hamas said an Israeli airstrike is to blame and that the hospital is packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, according to the Associated Press.

The health ministry says at least 500 people have been killed.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post newspaper that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad had fired a barrage of rockets at the time of the hospital's explosion, and one of those rockets appeared to be responsible for the explosion. Shortly after the incident, the military force said they were looking into what happened and that while many strikes are being conducted throughout Gaza, there are also many failed launches and many false reports from Hamas.

Photos and video purportedly of the al-Ahli Hospital on social media show the building on fire, structural damage and bodies. However, the photos could not be independently verified, the Associated Press also reports.