IDF begins probing Gaza war crime allegations: What can we expect?

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “>are now homeless, try to wrap their heads around the vast expanse of damage left by Israeli air bombings and tank incursions over 50 days of war, they're also frantic to know why their loved ones had to die.

“Are there rules against that? Leaving people injured in the road after 10 days?” Ibrahim Abu Erjala asked me, his voice cracking with grief and anger. Abu Erjala — pictured below, second from left — is the father of 16-year-old war victim Gadir, an epileptic girl shot dead in her wheelchair while her family was trapped in the battle zone.

“>my story on the battle between Israeli and Palestinian fighters in the middle-class border town of Khuzaa, the IDF answered every call and email seeking comment on civilian and soldier testimony with some version of “It's under investigation.” (Actually, the story of Ibrahim's 16-year-old, killed in her wheelchair, hit an even harder wall: “The events that you requested information about are not familiar to the IDF, according to our resources and investigations,” an IDF spokesman said of her death.)

So the IDF announcement comes as a welcome one, in that the army now must explain some of its attacks at length and in earnest. The first Military Advocate General (MAG) report is complete with explainers from Efroni on the seven cases he's ruled on so far — cases which happen to be some of the most high-profile of the war.

“>A July 8 bombing that killed eight members of the Kaware family in their home in Khan Younis (the nearest city to Khuzaa), was carried out due to the home's “use for military purposes by Hamas,” Efroni writes.

He says the IDF did everything it could to avoid civilian casualties:

Prior to the strike, the IDF provided precautions to the residents of the building to vacate the premises. These precautions included an individual phone-call and the firing of a non-explosive projective at the roof of the premises, as part of the 'knock on the roof' procedure. Following the provision of the precautions, the residents vacated the building. Subsequently, a number of people were identified as returning to the premises for unknown reasons. However, at this stage the bomb had already been released and could not be diverted from its target. It appears that it was these people who were killed as a result of the strike.

The next day, on July 9, Hamdi Shihab, a driver for the Palestinian news agency Media 24, was killed “>July 16 killing of four Palestinian boys, all cousins, playing on the beach in Gaza, right beneath a hotel where dozens of journalists were staying.

IDF spokespeople were initially at a loss for words. ““>interviewed by the New York Times in late August.

Abu Raida told the Times that — after being taken captive by IDF soldiers in the area — he was beaten, interrogated, forced to sleep blindfolded and handcuffed in his underwear, and made to walk ahead of soldiers searching for tunnels as a kind of “human shield.”

Now, the MAG finds:

Following media reports alleging unlawful acts (including allegations of assault and threats) by IDF forces against Ahmed Jamal Abu Raida, who was allegedly held by IDF forces in the area of Khuzaa, the MAG ordered an immediate criminal investigation into the incident.

But what can we expect from an “immediate criminal investigation” by the IDF?

After its last ground war in Gaza — Operation Cast Lead, which stretched over three weeks, from December 2008 into January 2009 — the IDF, again, announced it would be investigating around 100 incidents. Three years later, “>B'Tselem claimed in another scathing report that Israel's “military law enforcement system is a complete failure… and is marred by severe structural flaws that render it incapable of conducting professional investigations.”

Of course, the IDF is not the only one digging through Gaza's wreckage for evidence of war crimes. Within Israel, the State Comptroller has launched