That isn’t really what the rest of article you linked to says. The next two paragraphs are about video evidence that partially (and maybe wholly) contradicts the IDF statement you quoted:

Video filmed at the scene of the strike appeared to corroborate parts of the military’s statement but not others.

Filmed by Mustafa Abutaha, a professor of English, the footage showed a large crater in a tree-lined plot of land close to a four-story residential building. A high wall separated part of the plot from the road, suggesting that it was an enclosed compound. But as he filmed the video, Mr. Abutaha said the plot had housed displaced people. Shortly afterward, a second man passed in front of the camera, holding a motionless child.

The NY Times isn’t reporting from the ground. They have a statement from the IDF and video footage contradicting at least part of the IDF’s story.