Israel 'lied' over Gaza air raid

Israel said no civilians were hurt

The Israeli military has been accused of providing false information about an air strike against suspected Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Last month, the air force released video footage which it said disproved Palestinian claims that at least 10 civilians were killed in the raid.

At the time, the air force chief said two missiles were fired, killing only the occupants in the car.

But Israeli MPs say they have evidence a more deadly type of weapon was used.

Missile doubts

The Israeli military took the unusual step of showing the footage at a press conference, following the attack on 20 October, after accusing the Palestinians of lying about casualties.

Images of air strike

The grainy black-and-white film showed the car driving along a deserted road when it was hit by two strikes, seconds apart, from the air.

There were no civilians visible in the area at the time.

Israeli air force commander Dan Halutz said Hellfire missiles had been fired by Apache helicopters, which he said had the effect of "two assault grenades".

But left-wing Israeli member of parliament Yossi Sarid said he had evidence "powerful munitions with an unusually large range of impact" had been used.

"There is no doubt that the original report [by the Israeli military] was incorrect," he said.

Army 'erred'

Israeli journalist Shlomi Eldar who visited the scene the day after the attack said residents told him at least one of the munitions was unusual.

"First, it exploded in the air, also it dispersed to great distances," he quoted witnesses as saying.

After Mr Sarid threatened to unveil "confidential information" about the air strike, the Israeli military acknowledged it had not provided a full account.

Army chief Lieutenant General Moshe Yaalon said: "Perhaps, due to the operational and security sensitivity of the matter at hand, we erred in the way we chose to define the operational means we used."

He said there had been no intention to provide misleading information.