BBC investigation makes Israeli military admit to Gaza strike

The Israeli military has admitted to conducting an unannounced strike on south Gaza’s al-Mawasi area, following a BBC investigation, the BBC reported on June 6th.

The strike reportedly killed one Palestinian at the very least and caused injuries to 30 others. The incident occurred on June 1st near Khan Younis, several hours after a separate, deadly incident near a newly established aid distribution site in Rafah.  The Hamas-administered Civil Defence agency believes 31 Palestinians were killed in the sperate incident.

Footage reviewed by BBC Verify initially showed that the incident took place near the Rafah aid site. However, geolocation confirmed that the blast occurred 4.5km away, in Khan Younis, where displaced Palestinians had been sheltering in tents.

When approached by BBC Verify, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted that it was behind the strike strike and that it was the result of “technical and operational errors.” The army said troops had been targeting a separate location when artillery “deviated” and mistakenly hit al-Mawasi. The IDF did not provide evidence to support this claim and has rarely acknowledged apparent mistakes.

BBC Verify matched footage of injured Palestinians to later scenes at a local hospital. The Kuwaiti Field Hospital reported one death and 30 injuries from the strike. Eyewitness footage showed children and women running amid dust clouds and bloodied victims.

This incident is among just a handful that the IDF has publicly described as mistakes since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. The BBC’s examination of the IDF’s official Telegram statements identified only four such admissions prior to this one.

The footage of the Khan Younis strike became the focus of a broader dispute between the BBC and the White House. Following a BBC Verify post debunking claims that the footage showed the Rafah incident, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt incorrectly claimed the BBC had withdrawn its reporting. The BBC later issued a statement calling her comments “misleading” and said she had conflated two different stories.

The IDF said the Khan Younis strike is now under review but did not specify casualty figures. The attack came as the UN estimates that 90% of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents have been displaced by ongoing Israeli air and ground operations.

BBC