“A UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) hit a civilian building in the city of Eliot, in southern Israel,” Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported Thursday, following up with a post of “exclusive footage” of the Israeli Air Force calling off an air strike in order to avoid inflicting civilian casualties.
“The identity of the UAV and the details of the incident are under review,” the IDF reported on social media, before posting “Exclusive footage of an air strike being called off - never before seen Israeli Air Force footage shows efforts to avoid civilian casualties.”
"Wait, there are children in the area," a voice says, according to the translation in the video. When civilian presence is confirmed, the attack is called off.
The source of the video is a post on Substack by IDF Spokesperson for Foreign Media Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, who identifies the voice in the video as “Lt Col ‘A’”:
“Lt Col ‘A’, an air force navigator, described how airstrikes can be called off from the cockpit:
“Continuously when we're in the air, we're looking to see if we need to abort.”
“[A]s I’ve said before, our war is not with the people of Gaza. We’re doing everything we can to open up evacuation corridors for them to move south,” Hecht writes.
“For the fifth consecutive day, the IDF has opened another evacuation corridor today for civilians in northern Gaza to move south,” IDF reported Thursday.
"Wait, there are children in the area"
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) November 9, 2023
Exclusive footage of an air strike being called off - never before seen Israeli Air Force footage shows efforts to avoid civilian casualties.
By @LtColRichard https://t.co/PWwgiqADkf pic.twitter.com/1qdsZNMlzS