IDF admissions to misconduct after initial denials

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the military forces of the State of Israel, has on several occasions been involved in incidents that resulted in accusations of misconduct or potential breaches of international law. In some instances, initial official statements or denials were later revised following internal investigations, which subsequently acknowledged wrongdoing or provided more clarity on events. This article documents such instances, emphasizing the timeline from initial denial to subsequent acknowledgment.

Initial report and denial
In October 1953, Israeli troops led by Ariel Sharon, under Operation Shoshana, or Qibya massacre, attacked the village of Qibya in the West Bank, then controlled by Jordan. Over sixty-nine Palestinian villagers, primarily women and children, were killed. Israeli forces framed this operation as a retaliation for the Yehud attack, where an Israeli mother and her two children were killed. Numerous structures, including forty-five houses, a school, and a mosque, were destroyed in Qibya. The incident garnered international attention, being condemned by institutions such as the United States Department of State and the United Nations Security Council. Initially, Israeli officials denied military involvement, suggesting it was the act of enraged civilians.

Investigation and admission
In the wake of international criticism, Israel eventually acknowledged that the attack on Qibya was approved by its leadership. However, they contested the reported death toll. Ariel Sharon, who played a pivotal role in the operation, defended it by asserting that it was a necessary retaliation for previous terror attacks against Israelis.

Initial report and denial
On October 29, 1956,during the Kafr Qasim massacre, Israeli border police killed 48 Arab civilians, including women and children, who were returning home from work in the village of Kafr Qasim. The villagers were unaware that a curfew had been imposed earlier that day amid tensions surrounding the Suez Crisis. Israel immediately imposed a military censorship blocking all media reporting on the event. For months, the government denied responsibility and refused access to the village.

Investigation and admission
After two months of protests led by Arab Knesset members, Israel finally lifted the media blackout. An inquiry found that border police shot the villagers under orders from commanders to kill anyone violating the curfew. In 1958, courts martial convicted a number of officers of murder, though their prison sentences were soon controversially reduced by appeals and presidential pardons. The key outcome was the landmark ruling that soldiers have a duty to disobey manifestly illegal orders. The court found the "shoot to kill" order blatantly unlawful.

Initial report and denial
On November 3, 1956, during the Suez Crisis, the Israel Defense Forces carried out operations in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, as well as the neighboring Khan Yunis refugee camp. The IDF, in what is known as the Khan Yunis massacre, shot dead hundreds of Palestinian civilians during house raids ostensibly aimed at militants. Israel's initial statements claimed that most of the deaths occurred during armed clashes with militants or Fedayeen fighters. The government strongly denied any unlawful killings of civilians by its troops.

Investigation and admission
A United Nations report estimated that 275 Palestinians were killed in Khan Yunis. Palestinian eyewitnesses described summary executions and mass shootings of civilians. In 2004, IDF veteran accounts published in the Israeli press confirmed that a civilian massacre was perpetrated by Israeli soldiers in Khan Yunis. Israel eventually acknowledged that there was a massacre of civilians occurred based on these IDF accounts, overturning its initial claims that deaths occurred during armed clashes.

Initial report and denial
In December 2008, Israel launched a major military offensive in Gaza known as Operation Cast Lead, aimed at Hamas and other militant groups. During the 3-week operation, there were numerous reports by UN officials, human rights groups, and journalists on the ground claiming Israel had used white phosphorus munitions in densely populated areas of Gaza. Such usage is restricted under international law due to the indiscriminate and horrific burns white phosphorus causes on contact with skin. Initially, Israeli officials categorically denied that its forces used white phosphorus weapons in Gaza at all.

Investigation and admission
In January 2009, after accumulating evidence made clear white phosphorus shells were extensively fired in Gaza, the IDF finally admitted to using the munition. However, it claimed the white phosphorus shells were only used to create smokescreens per international law, not as an incendiary weapon against people. Rights groups disputed this, citing evidence of white phosphorus burns on injured civilians.

Initial report and denial
On May 15, 2014, two 17-year-old Palestinian teenagers, Nadeem Nawara and Mohammad Salameh, were shot dead by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers during annual Nakba Day protests outside Ofer Prison in the West Bank. Multiple eyewitnesses and video footage clearly showed the two teens were unarmed when fatally shot. However, Israeli officials initially denied that any live ammunition was used against the demonstrators. They instead claimed the cause of death was unknown, questioned the evidence, and stated only non-lethal methods were used to disperse protesters.

Investigation and admission
Following months of international pressure and scrutiny, Israel finally admitted in November 2014 that live ammunition had been used, contrary to its initial categorical denials. Forensic evidence matched a bullet to the rifle of an Israeli border policeman. He was arrested and charged with shooting and killing Nadeem Nawara. In 2018, the officer pleaded guilty to causing death by negligence for the accidental live fire shooting.

Initial report and denial
On May 11, 2022, renowned Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed while reporting on an early morning Israeli military raid at the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Abu Akleh, who was wearing a helmet and vest clearly marked "Press," was with a group of journalists when she was fatally shot in the head. The Israeli Defense Forces initially denied that its soldiers were responsible for her death. Israeli officials claimed she could have been killed by indiscriminate Palestinian gunfire during clashes with IDF troops, calling her death a tragedy in the fog of war.

Investigation and admission
After over four months of widespread condemnation, multiple international probes finding Israel responsible, and growing accusations of a cover-up, Israel finally admitted in September 2022 that there was a "high probability" Abu Akleh was mistakenly shot by one of its soldiers during the Jenin raid.

Initial report and denial
On August 7, 2022, an Israeli airstrike on Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip killed five Palestinian children aged 3 to 16. The children were killed when a missile struck outside their home. The Israel Defense Forces initially claimed the children were likely killed by a failed rocket launch from Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militants in the area. Israel denied its forces were responsible.

Investigation and Aamission
However, the IDF later opened an investigation which found no PIJ rockets had been fired from the vicinity at the time. The investigation conclusively determined Israeli fighter jets had conducted the airstrike that resulted in the deaths of the five children. An IDF official admitted the military's initial claim blaming PIJ rocket misfire was incorrect.