From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Army probing strike on Red Crescent HQ in Gaza
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF has launched a probe into its bombing of the Palestinian Red Crescent headquarters in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis yesterday.
According to the Red Crescent, five people were killed and three others were wounded in the strike. At least 14,000 displaced people are sheltering in the building and a nearby hospital, it said.
In response to the report, the IDF Spokespersons Unit tells The Times of Israel that immediately after the incident was reported, an “operational investigation” was carried out “to draw immediate lessons.”
????الاحتلال يجدد قصفه لمقر جمعية الهلال الأحمر الفلسطيني في #خانيونس للمرة الثانية وعدد من الشهداء والجرحى بين صفوف النازحين البالغ عددهم14 الف نازح في مقر الجمعية ومستشفى الأمل المجاور له.#لست_هدفا❌#غزة pic.twitter.com/Tes6eJCO9m
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 2, 2024
“At the same time, the incident was transferred to the General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism, which is responsible for investigating unusual incidents that occurred during the fighting,” it adds.
A military source tells The Times of Israel that Hamas’s use of civilian sites to fight Israel “is extensive and unprecedented.”
The source says entire neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip have been converted into “fighting complexes” for Hamas, which include “ambushes, command and control apartments, weapon depots, combat tunnels, observation posts, firing positions, booby-trapped homes and explosives in the streets.”
“Fierce battles against IDF forces have been taking place from these buildings since the beginning of the ground maneuver,” the source adds.
