The Accidents of Warfare
Aussie Dave | Nov 09, 2006 | 3 comments
Ha’aretz reports on yesterday’s accidental killing of palestinian civilians.
An Israel Defense Forces inquiry committee, headed by Major General Meir Kalifi, is examining two main options for what caused an IDF shell to stray 500 meters off course to the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun, killing 19 Palestinians, mostly women and children.The committee believes that the disaster was the result of either a technical problem or human error. The problem (or error) could have occurred in either the artillery battery’s radar or its firing computer, both of which are operated manually.
This does not change anything I wrote in yesterday’s post. If the terrorists were not operating anywhere near civilian neighborhoods, such a malfunction would not have killed civilians. After all, we are talking about the shell straying half a kilometer.
In any event, you cannot compare the IDF’s accidental killing of palestinian civilians with the terrorist’s deliberate targeting and killing of Israeli civilians.
About the Author
An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.Filed Under: General
Shit like this can happen. I served in field artillery in the Finnish military and a seemingly small error can make the shell go where it isn’t supposed to go.
–> Rio Comes to Gaza
Speaking of warfare accidents, we are waiting for some spicy comment on the French peacekeepers 2 seconds away from firering at IAF jets …