Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas: Live updates

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces on Thursday responded to CNN’s weeks-long investigation into a January incident in which indiscriminate Israeli fire killed half the members of one family.

“When we are going after Hamas, after Hamas’ leadership – and when they are hiding in the civilian arena – there are civilian consequences,” Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

A key finding of CNN’s investigation was that several members of the Abu Jibba family were killed by the shockwave of what was likely a 2,000-pound bomb dropped by the Israeli military. Such a large bomb is, by its nature, indiscriminate when civilians are present.

The IDF told CNN it was responding to fire by militants. The IDF also told CNN that it told civilians to begin evacuating days ahead of the incident. When asked for evidence of that claim, the IDF did not provide any, and survivors of the attack said they were not warned in advance.

The IDF alleged they were fired upon from near the location where the civilians were sheltering. Survivors of the attack told CNN there were no militants at their location. The IDF separately alleged there were Hamas weapons facilities several hundred meters away from the location they bombed but did not allege that the building they bombed was a Hamas facility. 

Lerner said that “watching the report, there was a lot of supposition and not fact-based analysis.” He did not go into detail. 

CNN provided the IDF with the opportunity to respond to the report’s key allegations in advance of publication, via an extensive list of questions.

Responding to CNN’s investigation, the UN secretary general’s spokesperson on Wednesday called for “a full investigation into what was reported.” The International Criminal Court prosecutor’s office said it is also “aware of the incident” and following closely.