Israel Rebukes 2 Officers for U.N. Gaza Compound Shelling
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JERUSALEM — The Israeli military confirmed Monday that it had reprimanded two senior officers, a brigadier general and a colonel, for the firing of artillery shells that hit a United Nations compound during the Gaza war last winter. It was a rare admission of high-level wrongdoing at a time when Israel is battling accusations of possible war crimes.
But the military maintained ambiguity about a more contentious issue, whether the artillery shells that struck the compound contained white phosphorus, as the liberal daily newspaper Haaretz reported Monday. The chemical can be used to illuminate battlefields or cause smoke screens, but can also burn flesh.
The military has acknowledged using smoke shells containing white phosphorus nearby, and a military spokesman said it was possible that the shells that struck the compound contained it, but said that was not a factor in the reprimand.
“Their punishment had nothing to do with white phosphorus,” said Capt. Barak Raz, an Israeli Army spokesman, “but with the firing of artillery shells in a built-up area.”
The Israeli news media identified the senior officers as a division commander, Brig. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg, and the former Givati brigade commander, Col. Ilan Malka. Neither was demoted, but Captain Raz said the reprimand would remain on their personal records and could affect their chances of promotion.