Israel recognizes the second killer attack on relief workers in Gaza

The Israeli army admitted on Thursday that its forces attacked the United Nations guests in Gaza with a fire tank last month, killing one of the employees.

The attack in the Deir Al -Bala area on March 19th, killing a United Nations employee, Bulgarian, and wounded six others. Secretary -General Antonio Guterres pushed to Pulling a third Among the international employees at the United Nations from Gaza due to safety concerns, at a time when one million Palestinians who live in the pocket need.

This was the second time in about a week, Israel admitted that its forces The fire was opened incorrectly on relief workers In the Gaza Stripand A rare thanks and appreciation in a conflict that the United Nations says it has proven that it had died for its workers more than anything else in its history.

Israel initially denied any involvement in the March 19 attack. Its mission at the United Nations said that the initial investigation “did not find any connection to the Israeli” “,” using an abbreviation of the Israeli defense forces, and accused Hamas members of familiarity with the United Nations vehicles.

But in a statement on Thursday, the Israeli army issued an apology to the United Nations.

The statement said: “The Israeli Defense Army regrets this dangerous incident and continues to conduct comprehensive reviews to draw operational lessons and evaluate additional measures to prevent such events in the future.”

An Israeli investigation found that the United Nations building had been attacked “due to the presence of an enemy that was evaluated and was not recognized by the forces as the United Nations facility,” according to the statement. He said that more investigations will be held in the coming days.

A United Nations spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said that the site of the United Nations complex that was attacked – as well as the sites of all United Nations structures in Gaza – was known to the Israeli army.

“This incident and investigation – there was more cooperation and transparency on their part more than these types of accidents since the beginning of this conflict,” said Mr. Dujarrick. But he said he was not enough.

He said: “We need accountability not only about this incident, but we need accountability and transparency for all other times that we saw in the United Nations colleagues killing in Gaza and attacked the United Nations infrastructure.”

The United Nations has determined the Bulgarian killing in the attack in the name of Marine Valv Marinov, 51. She described it as Magir and Master of Experienced Ships joined the United Nations in 2016 as a sea inspector working in Yemen for one year before going to Gaza.

At least 285 United Nations employees in Gaza have been killed since the beginning of the war, which began with Hamas’s Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. The United Nations said Israel has repeatedly hit its facilities in Gaza, including schools, shelters and distinguished vehicles.

In late March, the Israeli forces opened fire on a convoy of ambulances and fire trucks that travel with the emergency lights in the Rafah area in southern Gaza. At least one vehicle of the United Nations was targeted with a slogan. A video clip obtained by the New York Times was taken from the accident Five minutes of semi -continuous shooting.

The bodies of 15 humanitarian workers – from the Palestinian Red Crescent Association, the Palestinian Civil Defense and the United Nations – were discovered in a mass grave with fallen ambulances, fire trucks and the United Nations. and Cartist autopsy report He showed that most of the victims were killed by several gun shots, some on his head and chest.

Israel initially said that its forces had opened fire on ambulances because their lights were stalled and were close to the suspicion. He also stressed that there are members of Hamas between the convoy, without providing evidence.

On Sunday, the Israeli army said that “many professional failures” led to the attack, and the deputy commander of the unit responsible for the killings.

Geneva Conventions, laws that govern behavior in conflict areas, and to protect human workers and medical workers. The main human rights director of the United Nations said that Israel’s killing of paramedics raises questions about whether its army committed “war crimes.”

Mr. Dujarrick said on Wednesday that again, the United Nations was calling all parties in the war to “fully comply with international humanitarian law – and this includes protection, clearly, for civilians, but also protecting United Nations employees and humanitarian employees.”