IDF official: Strike on Gaza building targeted spotter, wasn’t aimed at toppling structure

An IDF official says the target of yesterday’s attack on a five-story building which Gaza health officials said caused scores of deaths was a spotter with binoculars in the building, and that the intent was not to destroy the structure.

The military official agrees to provide details only on condition of anonymity, citing military protocol and the ongoing investigation into the incident.

The official says the building was not known to be a shelter for civilians, and that it collapsed as a result of the strike on the spotter.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claimed yesterday that at least 70 people were killed in the first of two strikes on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, asserting that more than half of the victims were women and children. The ministry’s casualty tolls do not differentiate between civilians and terror operatives.

The military has said it is investigating the strike, urging skepticism of Hamas’s claims.

The official says there are discrepancies between the numbers of victims reported by authorities in Gaza and what Israeli intelligence indicates, and that the victims included known terror operatives. The official does not provide detailed evidence to support that assertion.

The army has repeatedly said it targets military targets and terror operatives, accusing Hamas of operating among civilians and using them as human shields. It has highlighted numerous steps it takes to mitigate harm to civilians, while acknowledging that errors have occurred.