Israeli defense officials have confirmed to the daily ‘Haaretz’ that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were responsible for the deaths of five minors in the northern town of Jabaliya as a result of last week’s shelling of the Gaza Strip.
Initial reports from Gazan authorities concluded that the civilian deaths were caused by Israeli shelling of the area, while the IDF denied targeting the town, saying it was due to a failed Islamic Jihad missile.
Keren Hajioff, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, claimed at the time that members of Islamic Jihad had fired a rocket into Israel “and it fell short,” hitting a Palestinian house inside the Strip, “killing at least four children.”
“We did not carry out any attacks in that area, neither in urban areas nor at that time,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Ran Kochav said shortly after the incident in the refugee camp, as reported by ‘The Times of Israel’.
The escalation lasted three days and left more than 40 Palestinians dead and 300 wounded, according to Palestinian authorities. The Israeli government confirmed on August 7 a cease-fire agreement to end the three-day escalation in the Gaza Strip.
Source: News 360
