Israeli military finds no negligence in killing of farmer near Lebanon border
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Israeli avocado farmer Ofer Moskovitz from the town of Misgav Am was killed by misfired artillery, the Israeli military said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Israeli military said on March 29 it had found no negligence or ethical failures by officers involved in the killing of Israeli farmer Ofer Moskovitz near the Lebanese frontier earlier in March.
The head of Israel’s Northern Command said on March 23 that Israeli forces had misfired artillery, killing 60-year-old Mr Moskovitz, an avocado farmer from the town of Misgav Am.
The military had initially attributed the incident to cross-border fire from Lebanon.
“The inquiry found that the firing was carried out during an operational incident providing close support to the manoeuvring forces,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
“It also determined that the error resulted from a convergence of several operational factors and non-optimal firing conditions. Alongside this, no negligence was found, nor was any ethical failure identified among those involved in the firing process within the artillery unit.”
The military said the head of its ground forces had ordered the introduction of a stricter operational directive addressing artillery fire over civilian communities and infrastructure.
Israel has launched a major ground assault and air campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah, the Iran‑backed group that began firing into Israel on March 2, two days after the start of US-Israeli strikes on Iran. REUTERS
