Two officers dismissed over deadly strikes
JERUSALEM>> The Israeli military said on 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’s rules of engagement.
The findings of a retired general’s investigation into the Monday killings marked an embarrassing admission by Israel, which faces growing accusations from key allies, including the United States, of not doing enough to protect Gaza’s civilians from its war with the militant Hamas group.
The findings are likely to bolster widespread skepticism over the Israeli military’s decision-making. Palestinians, aid groups and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing recklessly at civilians throughout the conflict — a charge Israel denies.
“It’s a tragedy,” the military’s spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, told reporters. “It’s a serious event that we are responsible for and it shouldn’t have happened and we will make sure that it won’t happen again.”
With pressure mounting on Israel to hold itself accountable, Hagari and other officials late on Thursday shared with reporters the results of the investigation.
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.
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.
The army declined to answer questions about whether similar violations of rules of engagement have taken place during the war — in which Palestinians, aid workers and international rights groups have repeatedly accused the army of recklessly striking civilians. More than 220 humanitarian workers have been killed in the conflict, according to the United Nations.
World Central Kitchen called the investigation and disciplinary actions “important steps forward” — but said more needed to be done.
“Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families,” the statement read, repeating a call for an independent investigation.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was important that Israel was taking responsibility, and that the U.S. would review the findings and look “to see not just what steps are being taken but the results.”
Military spokespeople said that under the Israeli army’s 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’s observation — from grainy drone-camera footage — that someone in the convoy was armed.
That observation turned out to be untrue, military officials said.
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’s advocate general, who will decide whether the officers or anyone else involved in the killings should receive further punishment or be prosecuted.
The killings were condemned by Israel’s closest allies. They heightened criticism of Israel’s conduct in the nearly 6-month-old war with Hamas — and put renewed focus on the dire situation in Gaza. The humanitarian group Oxfam says people in the enclave’s north have been surviving on an average of 245 calories a day since January — less than found in a can of fava beans and less than 12% of the recommended daily intake.
Israel has promised to open more border crossings into Gaza and increase the flow of aid into the territory — but Blinken said Friday that the measures may not be enough to meet the Biden administration’s demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions.
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.
It was not immediately clear when the Erez crossing — which borders hardhit northern Gaza — would open or how much additional cargo it could handle. The crossing, built to handle passenger traffic, was badly damaged in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that ignited the war.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-general Antonio Guterres noted Israel’s acknowledgment of mistakes and punishment of the officers.
“But the essential problem is not who made the mistakes, it is the military strategy and procedures in place that allow for those mistakes to multiply time and time again,” he said. “Fixing those failures requires independent investigations and meaningful and measurable change on the ground.”
He called for an immediate cease-fire, the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas and a “quantum leap” in the delivery of humanitarian aid.