Israeli army says it “mistakenly” targeted Palestinians riding bicycle

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army has said it “mistakenly” targeted two Palestinians who were riding a bicycle in the Gaza Strip.

The army published a video which it initially said showed two “gunmen” targeted in a drone strike in Gaza City last week for allegedly carrying a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).

The allegation, however, was proven wrong as it emerged that they were riding a bicycle.

“The army apologizes for this mistake,” the Israeli army spokesman’s office said in a statement in response to a question by the media.

The statement said the initial information gathered before the raid indicated that the two Palestinians were armed.

“When the video was published, the bike that someone was pushing was highlighted, which was mistakenly thought to be an RPG.”

According to the statement, the incident will be investigated by the army.

Defending the action, the military spokesman’s office said: “The area filmed in the video is an active combat zone, where many battles took place between the Israeli army forces and militants.”

The New York Times quoted Mohamed Qariqa, a researcher at the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory, as saying that the two men were returning home after trying to obtain humanitarian aid.

According to the researcher, one was killed and the other injured in the Israeli attack.

More than 31,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The military onslaught has led to mass destruction, displacement, and shortages of necessities in the besieged territory, with children also dying of malnutrition and dehydration.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. Israel continues to ignore the ruling.