JERUSALEM, 5 Apr (AP) \u2014 The Israeli military said Friday that it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army\u2019s rules of engagement.<\/p>\n
The findings of a retired general\u2019s investigation into the Monday killings marked an embarrassing admission by Israel, which faces growing accusations from key allies, including the U.S., of not doing enough to protect Gaza\u2019s civilians from its war with Hamas.<\/p>\n
The findings are likely to bolster widespread skepticism over the Israeli military\u2019s decision-making. Palestinians, aid groups and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing recklessly at civilians throughout the conflict \u2014 a charge Israel denies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tragedy,\u201d the military\u2019s spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s a serious event that we are responsible for and it shouldn\u2019t have happened and we will make sure that it won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
With pressure mounting on Israel to hold itself accountable, Hagari and other officials late Thursday shared with reporters the results of the investigation.<\/p>\n
The speed of the probe and the swift punishment of five senior officers were extremely unusual. Such investigations are often slow and in most cases end without charges being filed. Human rights activists have long complained that Israeli forces operate in a climate of impunity, an allegation the military rejects.<\/p>\n
Still, the punishments and the apology seemed unlikely to calm rising international outcry over the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers or reassure international aid groups that it was safe to resume operations in Gaza, where nearly a third of the population is on the brink of starvation.<\/p>\n
The food charity called the investigation and disciplinary actions \u201cimportant steps forward\u201d \u2014 but noted the probe itself found that the army didn\u2019t follow its own protocols.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families,\u201d the statement read, repeating a call for an independent investigation.<\/p>\n
Military spokespeople said that under the Israeli army\u2019s rules of engagement, officers must have more than one reason for identifying someone as a target before they can be hit. But the investigation determined that a colonel had authorized the series of deadly drone strikes on the convoy based on one major\u2019s observation \u2014 from grainy drone-camera footage \u2014 that someone in the convoy was armed. That observation turned out to be untrue, military officials said.<\/p>\n
The army said the colonel and the major were dismissed, while three other officers were reprimanded, the most senior of whom was the head of the Southern Command. It said the results of its investigation were turned over to the military\u2019s advocate general, who will decide whether the officers or anyone else involved in the killings should receive further punishment or be prosecuted.<\/p>\n
The killings were condemned by Israel\u2019s closest allies. They heightened criticism of Israel\u2019s conduct in the nearly 6-month-old war with Hamas \u2014 and put renewed focus on the dire situation in Gaza. The humanitarian group Oxfam says people in the enclave\u2019s north have been surviving on an average of 245 calories a day since January \u2014 less than found in a can of fava beans and less than 12% of the recommended intake.<\/p>\n
Israel has promised to open more border crossings into Gaza and increase the flow of aid into the territory \u2014 but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the measures may not be enough to meet the Biden administration\u2019s demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions.<\/p>\n
If fully implemented, the measures could increase assistance to Palestinians. But the U.S. also wants to see tangible steps to better protect civilians and aid workers, he said.<\/p>\n
Those killed Monday were three British citizens, a Polish citizen, an Australian, a Canadian American dual citizen and a Palestinian, all of whom worked for World Central Kitchen, the international charity founded by celebrity chef Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s.<\/p>\n
The investigation, headed by Yoav Har-Even, a retired general, found two major areas of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
It faulted officers for failing to read messages alerting troops that cars, not aid trucks, would carry workers from the charity away from the warehouse where aid was distributed. As a result, the cars that were targeted were misidentified as transporting militants.<\/p>\n
The army also faulted a major who identified the strike target and a colonel who approved the strike for acting with insufficient information.<\/p>\n
The army said the order was given after one of the passengers inside a car was identified as a gunman. It said troops became suspicious because a gunman had been seen on the roof of one of the delivery trucks on the way to the warehouse.<\/p>\n
The army showed reporters footage of the gunman firing his weapon while riding atop one of the trucks \u2014 video that The Associated Press could not independently verify.<\/p>\n
After the aid was dropped off at a warehouse, an officer believed he had spotted a gunman boarding one of the cars. The passenger, it turned out, was not carrying a weapon \u2014 the military said it\u2019s possible he was just carrying a bag.<\/p>\n
The army said it then struck one car. As people scrambled away into a second car, it hit that vehicle as well. It did the same thing when survivors fled into a third car.<\/p>\n
World Central Kitchen and the military said they coordinated the convoy\u2019s movements, and that the vehicles were marked with the organization\u2019s logo. But army officials claimed that drone operators could not see the words because it was nighttime.<\/p>\n
The army could not say exactly where the communication about the convoy\u2019s plans had broken down.<\/p>\n
The army declined to answer questions about whether similar violations of rules of engagement have taken place during the war \u2014 in which Palestinians, aid workers and international rights groups have repeatedly accused the army of recklessly striking civilians.<\/p>\n
More than 220 humanitarian workers have been killed in the conflict, according to the U.N.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s be very clear. This is tragic, but it is not an anomaly,\u201d Scott Paul, of Oxfam, said Thursday in a briefing with other relief organizations before the results of Israel\u2019s investigation were released. \u201cThe killing of aid workers in Gaza has been systemic.\u201dAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JERUSALEM, 5 Apr (AP) \u2014 The Israeli military said Friday that it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army\u2019s rules of engagement. The findings of a retired general\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-238336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}