Israeli Defense Force spokesmen initially reported that the building had collapsed several hours after Israeli bombing. According to the IAF Chief of Staff, Brigadier-General Amir Eshel, the building was attacked a little after midnight. He also alleged that he did not know when the building collapsed, but: "according to foreign press reports, and this is one of the reports we are relying on, the house collapsed at 8 A.M. We do not have testimony regarding the time of the collapse. If the house collapsed at 12 A.M., it is difficult for me to believe that they waited eight hours to evacuate it." In addition, it was reported that senior IAF officers had said that the collapse could have been caused by an unexploded missile or by a Hezbollah-planted explosive device. The IDF's excuses were immediately denounced by Qana's residents and witnesses of the strike, who said the Israeli shelling was responsible for the collapse. An elderly man who survived the strike said a Hezbollah device could not be the cause of the explosion, since Israeli destruction of local infrastructure made it impossible that weaponries be moved towards the building.