On Thursday, Israel's military acknowledged that its forces had targeted a United Nations guesthouse in Gaza with tank fire last month, resulting in the death of a staff member.
The attack took place on March 19 in the Deir al Balah area and claimed the life of a Bulgarian U.N. employee while injuring six others. The incident prompted the U.N. Secretary-General to withdraw about one-third of the organization's international personnel from Gaza due to escalating safety concerns amid a humanitarian crisis affecting two million Palestinians.
This marks the second occasion within a week that Israeli forces have admitted to mistakenly targeting aid workers in the Gaza Strip, a rare concession in a conflict described by the United Nations as the deadliest ever for its personnel.
Initially, Israel denied responsibility for the March 19 strike. Its U.N. mission reported that an early investigation found no link to the Israel Defense Forces and suggested that Hamas militants were using U.N. compounds for shelter.
However, the Israeli military issued a formal apology to the United Nations in a statement released Thursday.
"The Israel Defense Forces deeply regret this serious incident and are conducting thorough reviews to learn operational lessons and assess additional measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future," the statement said.
