Israel has ordered investigations into eight "exceptional incidents" that happened during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza earlier this year, which left over 2,000 Palestinians and more than 70 Israelis dead.
The IDF spokesperson issued a 19-page statement announcing the probes, including one into an IDF air strike on the home of the Abu Jama family in Khan Yunis on July 20. The 27 Palestinians deaths included 19 children and 2 pregnant women.
"The factual findings and materials collated by the Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism and presented to the MAG [Military Advocate General, Maj. Gen. Danny Efroni], indicated the existence of grounds for a reasonable suspicion that the incident involved a deviation from the rules and procedures applicable to IDF forces. As a result, the MAG has ordered a criminal investigation into the incident," the statement said.
Other incidents that will be probed include the killing of ambulance drivers and the use of human shields.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum, said in response that the new Israeli investigations were aimed at circumventing the UN inquiry. He called for "independent probes to bring Israeli war criminals to justice."
Sarit Michaeli of the Israeli rights group B'Tselem said that much of the harm to Palestinian civilians resulted from policies "that were made by high-ranking military commanders and by the political echelon." Military police investigations of particular incidents "cannot deal with the issue," she said.
See full statement here.
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UNHRC agrees to investigate alleged rights violations in Israel offensive on Gaza (23 July 2014)