Jerusalem:
The Israeli military indicted a soldier on Wednesday under a charge of manslaughter during last year's war in the Gaza Strip, the most serious criminal charge to come out of an internal investigation into the devastating offensive in the Hamas-ruled territory.
The soldier was among three troops, including a field commander, to face new disciplinary action stemming from their conduct during the offensive, which has drawn international condemnation for its civilian death toll. An Israeli human rights group praised the announcement, but said the disciplinary measures announced by the army so far were insufficient.
The steps against the soldiers were linked to four specific incidents during the offensive, which Israel launched to halt years of rocket fire from Gaza.
Around 1,400 Gazans, many of them civilians, were killed in three weeks of fierce urban fighting and aerial bombardments. Thirteen Israelis were killed. A report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, a charge Israel rejects.
In a statement on Wednesday, the military said its chief prosecutor would indict an infantry sergeant for manslaughter in connection with an incident in which two Palestinian women, a mother and daughter were killed while reportedly holding white flags.
The military said there were discrepancies between the troops' accounts of the incident and the details reported widely by human rights groups, the troops reported shooting one man at the site, not two women, and on a different date.
Also, it was unclear exactly whom the soldier was charged with killing. Asked for clarification, the military did not offer further details.
The military said this was the first manslaughter indictment from the Gaza war. The incident was mentioned in UN report, which accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes.
In addition, the military said a battalion commander was disciplined for allowing his troops to use a Palestinian civilian as a human shield. Soldiers sent the man toward a house where militants were holed up to persuade them to come out, a violation of army regulations, the announcement said.
In a third incident, the military said it disciplined an officer who ordered an airstrike near a mosque, an attack that the UN report said killed at least 15 civilians and wounded 40.
The military said the strike targeted a Palestinian militant outside the mosque and that the harm to those inside the building was unintentional, so it did not violate international law.
The soldier was among three troops, including a field commander, to face new disciplinary action stemming from their conduct during the offensive, which has drawn international condemnation for its civilian death toll. An Israeli human rights group praised the announcement, but said the disciplinary measures announced by the army so far were insufficient.
The steps against the soldiers were linked to four specific incidents during the offensive, which Israel launched to halt years of rocket fire from Gaza.
Around 1,400 Gazans, many of them civilians, were killed in three weeks of fierce urban fighting and aerial bombardments. Thirteen Israelis were killed. A report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, a charge Israel rejects.
In a statement on Wednesday, the military said its chief prosecutor would indict an infantry sergeant for manslaughter in connection with an incident in which two Palestinian women, a mother and daughter were killed while reportedly holding white flags.
The military said there were discrepancies between the troops' accounts of the incident and the details reported widely by human rights groups, the troops reported shooting one man at the site, not two women, and on a different date.
Also, it was unclear exactly whom the soldier was charged with killing. Asked for clarification, the military did not offer further details.
The military said this was the first manslaughter indictment from the Gaza war. The incident was mentioned in UN report, which accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes.
In addition, the military said a battalion commander was disciplined for allowing his troops to use a Palestinian civilian as a human shield. Soldiers sent the man toward a house where militants were holed up to persuade them to come out, a violation of army regulations, the announcement said.
In a third incident, the military said it disciplined an officer who ordered an airstrike near a mosque, an attack that the UN report said killed at least 15 civilians and wounded 40.
The military said the strike targeted a Palestinian militant outside the mosque and that the harm to those inside the building was unintentional, so it did not violate international law.
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