IDF said to launch probe of unauthorized demolition of central Gaza hospital

The military has reportedly launched an investigation into the apparent unapproved demolition of a hospital in the central Gaza Strip last week.

Footage posted to social media on Friday showed that the IDF blew up the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, located in the Netzarim Corridor area.

In response to a query, the IDF claimed that it carried out an airstrike on a group of Hamas operatives who were residing at the hospital, which the terror group had turned into “terror infrastructure.”

But the clip posted online showed a controlled demolition of the hospital, rather than an airstrike.

The Haaretz daily now reports that the army has launched an investigation into the incident and it is suspected that the commander of the 252nd Division, Brig. Gen. Yehuda Vach, ordered the demolition without receiving approval from his superiors.

The demolition of sensitive sites in Gaza, such as hospitals and universities, requires the approval of senior officers, including the chief of the Southern Command and the IDF chief of staff.

Haaretz reports that the Military Advocate General instructed Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor to investigate the matter.

Vach’s name was brought up in a separate Haaretz investigation in January, claiming that the division commander had endangered the lives of troops with an aggressive attitude to operations and sent forces into combat areas without adequate preparation.