The Israeli army acknowledged that it accidentally fired on a vehicle with rescuers in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported the results of an investigation into the incident that occurred in the Gaza Strip in late March, which resulted in the deaths of 15 Palestinians, including medics and rescuers. According to the IDF, the cause was 'operational misunderstandings.' This was reported by Glavkom.

According to the investigation results, on March 23, three shooting incidents occurred in Rafah. In the first case, a vehicle was fired upon, which was identified as a Hamas vehicle.

About an hour later, the second episode occurred. The deputy commander of the 'Golani' reconnaissance battalion saw a column of cars, including an ambulance and fire trucks. Believing that these vehicles belonged to Hamas militants who had come to assist the passengers of the first vehicle, he decided to open fire. It later became known that this was a rescue team. As a result of this incident, 15 Palestinians were killed, six of whom were identified as Hamas terrorists.

About 15 minutes later, the third episode occurred when Israeli forces opened fire on a Palestinian UN vehicle.

It was reported that the investigation's results found no evidence of civilian casualties, and the troops were conducting indiscriminate fire.

It was also clarified that the first two incidents occurred due to 'operational misunderstanding' on the part of the soldiers who felt threatened by enemy forces. The third incident occurred due to 'violating orders during a combat situation.'

As a result of the investigation, the IDF decided that the commander of the 14th brigade would receive a reprimand with a record in his personnel file, and responsibility for the incident would be placed on him. The deputy commander of the 'Golani' reconnaissance battalion will be dismissed from his position.

At the end of March, Hamas agreed to a proposed deal to cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip through intermediaries.

On April 6, Hamas militants fired rockets at Israel, to which the IDF will expand its operation in the Gaza Strip in response.

Hamas launched ten rockets toward Israeli territory. According to Israel, five projectiles were successfully intercepted. The rocket launches were conducted from Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip and directly targeted the city of Ashdod.

On April 18, it became known that Hamas will no longer agree to partial agreements with Israel.

Analysis

The IDF announced the results of the investigation into the incident that occurred in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the deaths of 15 Palestinians, including medics and rescuers. It turns out that the cause of such a tragic event was operational misunderstandings on the part of the IDF soldiers. This indicates significant problems in communication and identification of vehicles and personnel at the conflict site. It has serious implications for the safety of people and the escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Criticism of the IDF leadership for this incident may lead to changes in military strategy and procedures to avoid similar mistakes in the future.