Israel’s military yesterday closed an investigation into a 2009 shelling of a house in Gaza that killed 21 members of a Palestinian family, saying it did not constitute a war crime and that the civilians had not been targeted purposefully.
The incident occurred during a three-week war in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Witnesses said that on January 4th, 2009, Israeli troops had ordered about 100 civilians in the Zeitun district to enter the house and stay there, out of their way. But the following day the house was hit by Israeli shells and collapsed, killing the members of the extended Samouni family. After an investigation into allegations of war crimes, the military advocate general “found the accusations groundless” and that none of those involved “acted in a negligent manner”. – (Reuters)