Israel cleared in tragic murder of Gaza family
Six women and four children were among the victims of the most widely publicised tragedy of the war
Occupied Jerusalem: An Israeli investigation into the worst civilian tragedy of last November’s Gaza Strip offensive — an attack that killed 10 members of a single family and two neighbours — concluded that soldiers bombed the home by mistake and should not face criminal charges or other disciplinary action. The November 18 Israeli air strike was one of the most horrific and widely publicized incidents of the eight-day clash with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas. The military campaign killed at least 168 Palestinians including 101 civilians, a UN report found. Six Israelis, including four civilians, were killed by Palestinian rocket fire. After examining 80 allegations of misconduct, Israel’s Military Advocate General’s Corps said in an April 11 update that no criminal wrongdoing had been found in 65 cases so far, including the bombing of the Al Dalu family, which killed six women and four children.
In most cases, it said the deaths were the result of unintended damage, operational errors or mistaken identities. The report said “the regrettable deaths of members of the Al Dalu family were caused as a result of an attack aimed against a senior terrorist operative.” The conclusion differs from a review by Human Rights Watch, which called the bombing a “clear violation of the laws of war.”
The group on Sunday called the Israeli report “grossly insufficient,” given the number of civilian deaths.
“Just calling the fatal consequences of an attack ‘unintended’ or a ‘mistake’ does not remotely make the attack lawful,” said Human Rights Watch senior researcher Bill Van Esveld. “Given the numerous, well-documented Israeli attacks that killed civilians where there was no evidence of Palestinian military targets in the area, the IDF’s unsupported assertion that the worst attacks were just innocent mistakes is completely inadequate.” The Israeli report also exonerated its military in the November 14 killing of an 11-month-old Gaza baby and two adult relatives, who were killed when a projectile set their home on fire. “It was concluded that this death was not a result of an IDF action,” the advocate report said, offering no further details.
Last month, the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights said the three Gazans were probably killed by an errant Palestinian rocket that fell short of Israel. Hamas officials and Misharawi family members still blame Israel for the attack.
