The Israeli army has blamed Palestinian fighters for the deaths of a Gaza mother and her four young children following an Israeli air raid in Beit Hanoun earlier this week.
The military's report contradicts one by B'Tselem, an independent Israeli human rights group, which found that the family was killed by a strike from an Israeli missile.
The army said on Friday that its investigation of the killing of Meissar Abu Megteg and her children found that secondary blasts from ammunition backpacks carried by the fighters were to blame.
But B'Tselem maintains there is "no evidence" of any secondary explosion.
David Chater, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said the "real time sequence and the claims by the Israeli army have not been subjected to independent expert analysis".
Inquiry criticised
Chater said: "Their interpretation is based solely on the video footage and is at odds with field researchers from B'Tselem who gathered evidence on the ground immediately after the strike. They say it is not enough to launch an internal inquiry alone."
The Israeli military said that the air force twice fired missiles at Palestinian fighters "carrying backpacks loaded with ammunition" near the home.
"One gunman was targeted and hit from the air. As a result a strong secondary explosion occurred," a spokesman said in a statement.
"The second gunman was targeted and hit as well, causing an even bigger explosion ... Both explosions were significantly stronger than those caused by the IDF attacks against them."
A 17-year-old Palestinian student was also killed in the same incident, according to hospital officials.
The army also released video footage of what it said were four fighters operating close to the family's home.
Contradictory claims
Ibrahim Abu Meatak, a close relative, dismissed the Israeli military's findings as a lie.
Gazan were outraged by the killings [AFP]
"We knew they were not going to treat us fairly. Other families have been eliminated before and they didn't take responsibility," he told the Reuters news agency.
B'tselem had called for a criminal investigation into the killings, saying the army appeared to have violated international law by firing close to the family's home.
The group said their investigation found the family were killed by a missile fired at a Palestinian fighter who was a metre from their home.
The shockwave from the blast tore off an iron gate that flew into the families home, killing them while they ate breakfast, according to a letter sent to Israeli military officials by the group.
Olmert 'sorry'
The Israeli military said the operation in Beit Hanoun was launched to "ensure that rocket crews, snipers and tunnel diggers are kept away from the border".
Israel says the fighters endangered the family's lives by operating near their home.
However, Hamas and the family's neighbours denied that Palestinian fighters were operating near the home during the Israeli attacks.
The killing of Abu Megteg and her four children - whose ages ranged from one-to-five years-old - dealt a blow to Egyptian efforts to broker a Gaza truce between Hamas and Israel.
Hamas deplored the deaths as a "war crime" and reportedly fired rockets into Israel following the killings.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said he was "deeply sorry" about the deaths but blamed Hamas for operating among civilians.
Israeli Gaza deaths report disputed
The Israeli army has blamed Palestinian fighters for the deaths of a Gaza mother and her four young children following an Israeli air raid in Beit Hanoun earlier this week.
The military's report contradicts one by B'Tselem, an independent Israeli human rights group, which found that the family was killed by a strike from an Israeli missile.
The army said on Friday that its investigation of the killing of Meissar Abu Megteg and her children found that secondary blasts from ammunition backpacks carried by the fighters were to blame.
But B'Tselem maintains there is "no evidence" of any secondary explosion.
David Chater, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said the "real time sequence and the claims by the Israeli army have not been subjected to independent expert analysis".
Inquiry criticised
Chater said: "Their interpretation is based solely on the video footage and is at odds with field researchers from B'Tselem who gathered evidence on the ground immediately after the strike. They say it is not enough to launch an internal inquiry alone."
The Israeli military said that the air force twice fired missiles at Palestinian fighters "carrying backpacks loaded with ammunition" near the home.
"One gunman was targeted and hit from the air. As a result a strong secondary explosion occurred," a spokesman said in a statement.
"The second gunman was targeted and hit as well, causing an even bigger explosion ... Both explosions were significantly stronger than those caused by the IDF attacks against them."
A 17-year-old Palestinian student was also killed in the same incident, according to hospital officials.
The army also released video footage of what it said were four fighters operating close to the family's home.
Contradictory claims
Ibrahim Abu Meatak, a close relative, dismissed the Israeli military's findings as a lie.
Gazan were outraged by the killings [AFP]
"We knew they were not going to treat us fairly. Other families have been eliminated before and they didn't take responsibility," he told the Reuters news agency.
B'tselem had called for a criminal investigation into the killings, saying the army appeared to have violated international law by firing close to the family's home.
The group said their investigation found the family were killed by a missile fired at a Palestinian fighter who was a metre from their home.
The shockwave from the blast tore off an iron gate that flew into the families home, killing them while they ate breakfast, according to a letter sent to Israeli military officials by the group.
Olmert 'sorry'
The Israeli military said the operation in Beit Hanoun was launched to "ensure that rocket crews, snipers and tunnel diggers are kept away from the border".
Israel says the fighters endangered the family's lives by operating near their home.
However, Hamas and the family's neighbours denied that Palestinian fighters were operating near the home during the Israeli attacks.
The killing of Abu Megteg and her four children - whose ages ranged from one-to-five years-old - dealt a blow to Egyptian efforts to broker a Gaza truce between Hamas and Israel.
Hamas deplored the deaths as a "war crime" and reportedly fired rockets into Israel following the killings.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said he was "deeply sorry" about the deaths but blamed Hamas for operating among civilians.
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