In a statement unusual, the Army of Israel has recognized this Tuesday failures in the intelligence information that led to the bombing of two slums in Gaza that killed nine civilians, including five children, the last 14 of November. The findings of the research reveal that the attack “was directed against a position considered as military, although it was in reality a venue is not closed, in which there were civilians present.” The State was ordered “to reduce as far as possible repetition of facts irregular fellow.”

The Subsequent Revision Operations (AAR, in its acronym in English) of the Operation Black Belt —the offensive against the militias of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, killing 34 palestinians killed, of whom 16 were civilians— have been completed, with recommendations of staff to review the mistakes made.

Two huts of sheet metal and wood located on the outskirts of Deir al-Balah, a town situated in the centre of the Gaza strip, were decayed after midnight on the 14 of November, by the impact of missiles of high-precision fired by the aviation of Israel. THE COUNTRY he visited last week the place that occupied the substandard housing before the bombing, where still could be seen in the craters the shells on the ground remains of clothing and school books.

The israeli Army's investigation finds that there were eight “non-combatants unfortunately dead” in Deir al-Balah, without including a ninth-civil, who died a day later as a result of his injuries. The review of the operation argues that “the goal had been identified as a military compound used by the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad, from where it was carrying out combat activity (...) in the same days of the Operation Black Belt”. When the attack was planned, says the research, “the Armed Forces felt that it was not going to cause harm to civilians.”

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Buried and forgotten in the Gaza strip for an attack is wrong in Israel Israel borders the war in Gaza with the shelling of retaliation that has caused more than 20 dead Israel kills military leader of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, which responds with the release of 200 rockets

The bombardment of Deir al-Balah, the military action of israel has led to higher mortality among non-combatants from the war of 2014 in Gaza, it was considered “militarily legitimate” by the spokespersons of military, before it was announced the opening of an internal investigation. From anonymity to protect themselves from the legal consequences, a an ex military man in israeli revealed after the attack on alleged flaws in the selection of the objectives of the aviation. “In Gaza, high population density impedes to know with accuracy what areas are inhabited and which are not,” said this source, who served in a team of observation and intelligence that determines the possible targets.

“takes quite a bit of time and effort to be able to establish a place of interest with safety and reliability”, added the military in reserve status. “But sometimes you have not completed all assessments to get new targets, faced with the pressure of the controls by extending the data banks, and the older lenses are not usually review”.

The same informant revealed that not always verified the presence of civilians in the area before launching an attack. “You ignore the protocols and do not become to strictly apply until a disaster occurs, such as that of Deir al-Balah,” he concluded. The research published now by the Armed Forces ensures that this objective had been approved last June by the Intelligence Section of the Southern Command, which directs operations in Gaza. “In addition, it was revised several times subsequently, the last time in the days after the attack”, is accurate in the press release military released on the eve of Christmas, emphasizing that the bombing was directed against a “military post on the that there had been military activity”.

“there were No calls, no text messages to mobile phones, also launched leaflets nor was there any overflight prior notice of the aircraft before the bombing”, said relatives of the victims palestinian civil in that slum rural of The Pool of Deir al-Balah, where you only see the yellow flags of Fatah, the party of palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and not the flags, black Islamic Jihad. The head of the family clan, Ramsi Abu Malush, had worked as a policeman for the Palestinian Authority before the islamist movement Hamas overthrow in 2007 by force to the Fatah in Gaza.

The chief of staff, Major-general Aviv Kochavi, as it says in the press release military, considered that it met the objectives of the Operation Black Belt —to eliminate “25 terrorists” and destroy “a hundred of installations (enemy)”— to “eliminate any real threat against israeli civilians” due to the launching of rockets by Islamic Jihad. Kochavi notes that the research “looks at the successes and failures attributable to the Armed Forces and expresses a commitment to learn the lesson and improve.”

The place where were the huts where the clan Abu Malhus-Sawarka was decimated by the missiles in anything resembling a military outpost. It is a municipal land where peasant families bedouins built their house with their own hands. The neighbors claim that there are no facilities of palestinian militants in that area, far away from almost a kilometer of the city, dominated by the plastic greenhouse and cattle pastures. A water tank built thanks to international cooperation, a warehouse of UNRWA, the agency for the palestinian refugees of the UN, and a workshop of construction material surrounding the area of the attack.

Date Of Update: 26 December 2019, 10:00