Rishi Sunak has said the explosion at a hospital in Gaza was “likely caused” by a missile launched from within the territory and towards Israel.
The prime minister said the government had come to the conclusion “on the basis of the deep knowledge and analysis of our intelligence and weapons experts”.
It means the UK is in agreement with the US, where officials said the information gathered so far indicated Israel was “not responsible” for the blast.
The prime minister also confirmed in his statement that the UK would send an additional £20m in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
He told the Commons: “As I indicated last week, we have taken care to look at all the evidence currently available.
“I can now share our assessment with the House. On the basis of the deep knowledge and analysis of our intelligence and weapons experts, the British government judges that the explosion was likely caused by a missile or part of one that was launched from within Gaza towards Israel.
“The misreporting of this incident had a negative effect in the region, including on a vital US diplomatic effort, and the tensions here at home.”
Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “As the PM said, it’s likely the missile that hit Al Ahli hospital was launched from within Gaza towards Israel.
“We cannot rush to judgement when human lives are at stake.”
The prime minister’s statement today is the first time the UK has attributed responsibility for the attack at al Ahli hospital last week, which Gaza’s health ministry said killed up to 500 people – a figure Israel said was inflated.
Hamas called the explosion a “crime of genocide” and blamed it on Israel.
Israel has denied any responsibility for the blast and said it was caused by a misfired rocket launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group – an Islamist militant group based in Gaza which is smaller than Hamas but shares a similar ideology.
The White House National Security Council (NSC) said last week that the “current assessment” was that Israel was “not responsible” for the explosion.
US President Joe Biden said he was “sad and outraged” by the strike, which he said appeared not to have been caused by Israel but “by the other team”.
The blast happened just before the US president arrived in Israel on Wednesday on a diplomatic mission to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spiralling into a broader regional conflict.
However, the second half of his visit to the Middle East – a summit between himself and Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian leaders in Amman, which would have focused on getting humanitarian assistance into Gaza while working towards calming tensions in the region – was cancelled following the bombing.
On Sunday the Palestinian ambassador to the UK claimed Israel was responsible for the hospital blast.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Husam Zomlot said: “Practically speaking, we don’t believe that firepower is owned by anybody, not only in Palestine, but in the region, except Israel.
He added: “I know exactly the Israeli track record for 75 years… when they see an outcry by people of conscience… when they know that what they did was absolutely horrific, the first thing they do [is] they deny it.
“And the logic, always the logic… is it’s the Palestinians killing themselves.”
Mr Sunak said the £20m in humanitarian aid would come on top of the £10m of support that has already been provided to help civilians in Gaza.
“I recognise that the Palestinian people are suffering terribly,” he said.
“Over 4,000 Palestinians have been killed in this conflict. They are also the victims of Hamas, who embed themselves in the civilian population.
“Too many lives have already been lost, and the humanitarian crisis is growing. I went to the region to address these issues directly.”
