(Times of Israel) Tamar Pileggi - On August 1, 2014, after a truce was declared in the Gaza war, a Hamas suicide bomber attacked an IDF unit in Rafah, killing and wounding several soldiers. Hamas fighters kidnapped the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin. Believing Goldin had been captured alive, the army responded with massive force in an effort to thwart his abductors. An IDF investigation released by Army Radio Tuesday concluded that the IDF counterstrike was proportionate. "Shots that were fired during the operation were designed to block the escape routes of kidnappers, and were done proportionately," the report stated. Palestinians claimed that Israel's response resulted in the deaths of as many as 150 civilians. However, the IDF investigation found that 41 people were killed, 12 identified as terrorists, 13 as civilians, and the rest as undetermined, although the army categorized them as "of fighting age."
2015-04-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive