The Spokesperson for the Israel Police issued a clarification this evening (Sunday) in the wake of a Haaretz investigative piece on the Re’im Party Massacre.
The clarification comes due to reports in Haaretz that the police had found that Hamas planned to attack nearby settlements and only attacked the party when they learned of it while crossing the border. Haaretz also claimed that a source informed them that an IDF attack helicopter fired towards the terrorists during the massacre and appears to have also hit some of the partygoers it was trying to protect.
In the wake of this report, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry put out a statement that Israel killed the Re’im partygoers in order to justify its current offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“No indication was given of harm to civilians due to aerial activity”
The Israel Police therefore clarified that “the initial inquiry focused on the heroism of the police officers who operated on site and the performance of the Israel Police in stopping the massacre committed by Hamas. And contrary to the reports in Haaretz newspaper, the police inquiry does not address the activity of IDF forces and as such, no indication was given of harm to civilians due to aerial activity on site.”
The Police added that “precisely in times like these, we call on the media to show responsibility in reporting and base themselves solely on official sources.”