IDF firepower units are complaining that population officers, with the backing of senior IDF officers, have prevented many opportunities to eliminate known terrorists due to inaccurate assessments of the number of civilians still present in the area.
According to a report for Walla News by military correspondent Dr. Amir Bohbot, sources within many IDF firepower units are complaining about multiple cases where known terrorists were identified but allowed to escape because too many civilians were believed to not have evacuated the area. Since the risk of harming those civilians was considered to be too high, the strikes were called off.
The sources believe that these decisions are too based on general and inaccurate assessments of the presence of civilians rather than hard evidence, saying that the officers stopping the strikes base themselves on "statistics and estimates" rather than more solid proof.
The IDF Spokesperson's response is pending.