Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Israeli cockpit video shows mission being scrubbed after children were seen

Israeli cockpit video shows mission being scrubbed after children were seen

The Israel Defense Forces has released cockpit video of a bombing mission it says was called off because children were seen in the target area.

“Fighting a terrorist organization that operates within civilian areas isn’t easy. Watch as IDF pilots call off a strike because children were there,” the IDF said in a tweet that featured the dramatic footage, released amid criticism the military is not differentiating between enemy targets and Palestinian civilians.

A commander in mission control is heard ordering the pilot to “check if there are children there,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

“They are moving too fast, it can’t be children,” the pilot answers.

“There are probably children here, we are stopping everything,” the commander says.

The pilot then noted that “there is a big one and a few little ones.”

The commander then calls off the strike, saying, “We won’t continue given the possibility that they are children.”

The Israel Defense Forces called off a bombing mission after a commander detected children in the target area.
The Israel Defense Forces called off a bombing mission after a commander detected children in the target area.

The clip was released a day after IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told reporters that the military is investigating the deaths of at least 42 Palestinians, including what Gaza officials said were 16 women and 10 children, in an aerial strike.

The IDF employs a “Roof Knocking” tactic in which it warns populated areas ahead of a planned strike, giving civilians the chance to evacuate the area in time, the Jerusalem Post reported.

An Israeli F-16 fighter jet releases flare near Sderot in southern Israel on May 14, 2021.
An Israeli F-16 fighter jet releases flare near Sderot in southern Israel on May 14, 2021.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

On Sunday, Israel shared intelligence with the US showing how Hamas operated inside the same 12-story building with The Associated Press and other media outlets.

An Israeli airstrike destroyed the high-rise, which The AP has claimed it did not know housed members of the terror group.

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