JERUSALEM (JTA) — An investigation confirmed that Israeli shells killed three daughters of a prominent Gaza doctor.
The Israel Defense Forces presented the results of its inquiry on Wednesday to Dr. Az A-Din Abu El-Eish, a well-known Gaza doctor who worked in a Tel Aviv hospital.
According to the investigation, two shells fired from an IDF tank struck the family’s home in the Sajaiya area of Gaza in January, killing the doctor’s children. The tank fired the shells at the home after suspicious figures were identified in the upper level of the home who were thought to be spotters directing the Hamas sniper and mortar fire that the troops had come under
The IDF Spokesperson Unit stressed that in the days leading up to the incident, Dr. Abu El-Eish was contacted personally several times by officers in the Coordination and Liaison Administration to urge him to evacuate his home, as many others already had, because of Hamas operations and the intense fighting that was already taking place in that area. The IDF had also dropped leaflets warning the residents.
"The IDF is saddened by the harm caused to the Abu El-Eish family, but at the same time states that considering the constraints of the battle scene, the amount of threats that endangered the force, and the intensity of fighting in the area, the forces’ action and the decision to fire towards the building were reasonable," read a statement issued by the IDF.
