Israeli attacks burn 11 to death in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Israeli forces continue bombarding Gaza, killing at least 25 Palestinians since dawn, including 11 people who burned to death in Khan Younis.

At least 11 were burned to death inside their home in Khan Younis as fire broke out due to multiple air attacks.

Seven members of a family were also killed by an air raid on the home where they were sheltering in the western part of Gaza City. Five people – a husband, his wife and three of their children – were killed in a tent in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.

Meanwhile, trucks and bulldozers employed to remove the rubble were destroyed as Israeli air raids hit Jabalia municipality’s garage. Many families remain trapped in the north of Rafah as the Israeli army has prevented Red Cross vehicles from reaching areas to help evacuate families. And throughout the night, loud explosions could be heard due to the systematic demolition of homes in the eastern part of Gaza City.

The Israeli military earlier said a review into last month’s killing of emergency responders in Gaza found there had been “several professional failures” and that a commander would be dismissed over the incident.

The 15 paramedics and other rescue workers were shot dead on March 23 in three separate shootings at the same location near the southern Gaza city of Rafah. They were buried in a shallow grave where their bodies were found a week later by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

In a statement on Sunday, the military said a commanding officer is to be reprimanded. A deputy commander, a reservist who was the field commander, will be dismissed from his position for providing an incomplete and inaccurate report, it said.

“The examination identified several professional failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to fully report the incident,” the military said.

“The fire in the first two incidents resulted from an operational misunderstanding by the troops, who believed they faced a tangible threat from enemy forces. The third incident involved a breach of orders during a combat setting,” it said.

The military advocate general was conducting its own investigation and criminal charges could be pursued, according to the military.

A video recovered from the mobile phone of one of the dead men and published by the Palestinian Red Crescent showed uniformed emergency responders and clearly marked ambulances and fire trucks, with their lights on, being fired on by soldiers.

Major General Yoav Har-Even, who conducted the review, told reporters that soldiers, from a special forces unit, had believed they were under threat after firing on what they initially determined as a Hamas vehicle but was in fact an ambulance. Two occupants were killed and a third was detained and questioned over suspected Hamas links.

The man was released the next day after further questioning.

The military says Hamas often conceals its activities amongst civilians and that there had been cases in the past where the fighter group used ambulances to carry out operations. Still, it says soldiers are told to distinguish between genuine emergency vehicles and those used by Hamas.