Israel has said it “regrets the harm” caused by airstrikes that killed dozens of civilians earlier this week.
About 131 people died when the Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps, east of Deir al-Balah, were pounded late on Sunday, according to figures by the United Nation’s human rights office.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesman told the KAN public broadcaster on Thursday: “The type of munition did not match the nature of the attack, causing extensive collateral damage that could have been avoided.”
In a later statement, the IDF said: “A preliminary investigation revealed that additional buildings located near the targets were also hit during the strikes, which likely caused unintended harm to additional uninvolved civilians.”
The IDF said it “regretted the harm” to non-combatants in the incident, saying that the strike had targeted Hamas operatives.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces expanded their ground offensive into urban refugee camps in central Gaza after bombarding crowded Palestinian communities and ordering residents to evacuate.
Despite US calls for Israel to curb civilian casualties and international pressure for a ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was deepening the fighting in retaliation for Hamas gunmen’s murderous assault on October 7.
Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian death toll in Gaza, citing militants’ use of crowded residential areas and tunnels.
Officials say they killed thousands of the enemy, without presenting evidence.
Israel’s offensive is one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history.
More than 20,900 Palestinians, two-thirds women and children, have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, whose count doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. The agency said 240 people were killed over the past 24 hours.
The UN human rights office said the continued bombardment of middle Gaza had claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve. The office noted that Israel had ordered some residents to move there.
