The initial results in an ongoing investigation of Israel’s defense forces found that the Israeli tank fire caused damage to a United Nations structure in downtown Gaza in March, killing a UN staff member and hurting another five.
The incident occurred a day after the high fire collapsed, according to a statement from the IFF on Thursday. The FDI said the structure attacked due to “suspicions of enemy presence.”
The Israeli army continues its military activity with tanks, while some Israeli soldiers have talmudic rituals in the border line in the Gaza Strip on April 3, 2025.
Anadolu through Getty Images
The UN employee, Marin Marinov, was killed in Deir Al Balah’s strike, told ABC News in March, a general spokesman for the UN Secretary General, told ABC News in an email.
The wounded employees were Neil Arnold, Joel Fournet, Nicolas Berthon, Alexandru Baban and David Petrov, said Haq.
Initially, the FDI denied participation in the strike, saying that “it did not attack a UN complex in Deir al Balah.” On Thursday, he apologized for “the involuntary damage for the UN employee and sharing family pain.”
“IDF continue to carry out thorough research processes to draw lessons and examine additional steps to avoid incidents of this type,” he said. “FDI sees great importance in continuing dialogue with international organizations, as part of the efforts to coordinate, draw lessons and avoid similar incidents in the future.”
The UN has opened its own research mission to learn more about the circumstances of the strike.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN undecretary and Executive Director of the UNOPS, responded to the last FDI statement. On the incident, saying: “We recognize the initial informed findings of the Israeli defense forces today that a round of tanks was the cause of the death of a colleague of the one in Deir al Balah. This is consistent with the known facts to the UN: This incident was the result of a tank in a completely distrustful ONUPS round.
A week after the incident, the UN said it was “comfortable with the statement” that an Israeli tank fired rounds during its initial collection of security information, HAQ told ABC News last month.
The UN Secretary General announced that the organization planned “to reduce the trace of the organization in Gaza” on March 24, four days after the strike.
“Last week, Israel carried out devastating attacks on Gaza, claiming the lives of hundreds of civilians, including United Nations staff, without allowing humanitarian aid to enter the Strip since the beginning of March,” said Stephane Durric, spokesman for the UN Secretary General, in a statement in March. “As a result, the Secretary General has made the difficult decision to reduce the trace of the organization in Gaza, even when humanitarian needs rise and our concern for the protection of civilians intensifies.”
The Israeli government has blocked the delivery of all goods, food and medical supplies to Gaza for more than eight weeks. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was blocking the aid because Hamas refused to free more hostages in an extension of the high fire of those negotiated in the United States. Fifty -eight hostages remain in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The March 19 strike brought the number of UN staff members killed in Gaza from Hamas’ surprise attack against southern Israel on October 7, 2023 to 280 people, UN Secretary General said in March.
The March the construction strike is one of several incidents in which IDFs have recognized responsibility.
Recently he assumed the responsibility of identifying objectives and shooting a convoy of emergency medical vehicles on March 23, killing 15 medical and humanitarian workers.
It is not clear for the IDF if any Israeli soldier will be responsible for the UN mortal strike.
