Officers censured over Hamas missile attack on bus that injured soldier

The Israeli military on Monday reprimanded a number of officers over an anti-tank missile attack that targeted a bus near the Gaza border, seriously injuring a soldier last month. The army found that steps should have been taken to keep the vehicle and soldiers out of harm’s way.

On November 12, a Hamas cell launched a Kornet anti-tank guided missile at a bus parked at the Black Arrow memorial site, next to the border with the northern Gaza Strip. The bus had previously been filled with soldiers, but almost all had disembarked in the moments before the attack. One soldier who was still on board was seriously injured in the missile strike.

An army investigation found a number of “operational failings” that, if avoided, could have prevented the attack.

For instance, a number of roadblocks were set up by Military Police in the area around the site, as the army knew that attacks along the border were possible given the heightened tensions in the region. However, the bus was allowed through those roadblocks, which put it within clear, unobstructed range of weapons inside Gaza.

In addition to the bus, other military vehicles and soldiers were allowed into the Black Arrow site and were similarly unprotected from anti-tank missiles, apparently in violation of military protocols.

As a result, the commander of the Northern Gaza Regional Brigade, Col. Avi Rosenfeld, received an official censure, as did the head of the regional battalion and two company commanders, the army said.

No officers were dismissed from their positions.

https://content.jwplatform.com/previews/VwFfI4kp-U4CTA3JQ

“The investigation, which was conducted by the Gaza Division, Ground Forces and Southern Command and was presented to the IDF chief of staff, found operational failings in how the troops were managed in the field, in terms of command, clearing out the area and operational discipline,” the army said.

As a result of the attack, the Gaza Division crafted a new set of operational plans during times of emergency to prevent similar attacks on the border.

The investigation into the troops’ actions was led by Brig. Gen. Amir Ebstein, commander of the IDF’s Border Defense Array.

The attack on the bus came less than a day after an IDF special forces officer was killed in an operation gone awry that also killed seven Palestinian gunmen in the Strip.

A video published by Hamas shortly after the attack showed that the cell that fired the missile had been observing troops at the site for some time before firing at the bus.

The father of the injured soldier railed against the military’s conduct immediately after the attack. “Why was my son there? I don’t understand what they were doing by the border,” he told Hadashot news. “They took them to the border and lined them up like sitting ducks.”

The seriosuly injured soldier was treated at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center. He was later released.

The afternoon attack on the bus near the Gaza border touched off a massive flareup of violence that saw more than 500 rockets fired at Israel and massive retaliatory airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, bringing the sides to the brink of war.