The Israeli military has admitted its troops were behind the deadly shelling of a UN guest house in Gaza last month, after previously denying responsibility.
On 19 March, the building in Deir al Balah belonging to the UN’s Office for Project Services (UNOPS) was attacked, killing a Bulgarian UN staff member and injuring six other international workers.
The picture below shows the damage sustained by the building, with a large hole in one wall.
The UN said the building was fired on by an Israeli tank, an allegation that the Israeli military previously denied.
In a statement today, 24 April, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) admitted that one of its tanks had struck the building and said it had passed preliminary findings to UN representatives.
“The building was struck due to assessed enemy presence and was not identified by the forces as a UN facility,” the statement says.
“We express our deep sorrow for the loss and send our condolences to the family.”
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At the time of the attack, however, UNOPS chief Jorge Moreira da Silva said that Israel knew the location of the building and who was working there.
“This was not an accident,” he said.
Sky News understands that the IDF had been previously informed that the building belonged to the UN, and that this is being investigated by the IDF.
The admission of responsibility comes as Israel is under increasing pressure over the deaths of aid workers in Gaza.
Sky News reported last month that attacks on aid workers had risen to the highest level in almost a year.
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Israel has faced particular criticism over its troops’ killing of 15 unarmed aid workers on 23 March, and the subsequent decision to bury their bodies in a mass grave.
The IDF said that its investigation into the attack on the UN guest house is still ongoing, and that the full results would be presented to the UN.
The UN has been approached for comment.
The IDF declined to comment when approached by Sky News.
You can watch our full report into the killings on 23 March here:
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The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
