Col. (res.) Danny Efroni, Chief Military Advocate General (MAG) of the IDF, ordered investigations to be launched by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) against soldiers over claims of unusual incidents during Operation Protective Edge.
Among the instances, Efroni ordered an investigation into the killing of four children on a fishing beach adjacent to Gaza Port, saying there is suspicion fire may have been opened against protocol. Likewise the killing of 15 Arab residents in an UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun is to be investigated; UNRWA facilities were fatally used against the IDF by Hamas terrorists.
Efroni also ordered an investigation into the killing of two ambulance drivers from Khan Younis and Beit Hanoun; it was documented that ambulances were used by terrorists in the campaign to transport weapons and fighters.
Several other instances are to be investigated, including an attack on the home of the Abu Jama family in which 27 Arab residents were killed.
In total MAG initially investigated materials on 100 complaints against the IDF, of which 50 have already been examined. In five cases a decision was reached to launch a criminal investigation, and in nine others it was decided not to launch criminal investigations.
In some cases, it was found that the IDF was not at all involved in the reported incidents. Eleven cases were returned to the IDF for further clarification and investigation before a decision could be reached, with dozens others being investigated by security forces and decisions expected in the near future.
Eight cases were ruled as worthy of criminal investigations on claims that on the surface appeared to show reasonable doubt of criminal activities without the need for clarification by the IDF General Staff.
The IDF faced Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist forces that were deeply embedded in Gaza’s civilian population, presenting massive difficulties in avoiding civilian casualties which Hamas encouraged by calling for human shields – a call that was acted upon.
Detailed studies in September revealed that a full 49% of the 2,203 Gaza residents killed in the operation were terrorists, marking a nearly unprecedented 1:1 ratio of civilian to militant casualties almost unheard of in urban warfare.
By contrast, an in-depth analysis by the Bureau of Investigative Journalist found the US’s drone strike campaign in the Middle East killed 96.5% civilians and only 3.5% terrorists, with only 41 targets among the 1,147 people killed in total.
In Protective Edge 67 IDF soldiers and five Israeli civilians were killed, 1,620 soldiers were wounded, some of them critically, and 837 civilians were wounded.
