The IDF released footage Friday evening showing the Israeli forces delay a planned strike on an outpost belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza due to the presence of a young Palestinian girl.
In the footage taken during Operation Breaking Dawn, the Israeli military can be seen tracking the girl to ensure she is a safe distance away before conducting the strike on the post.
The strike occurred last Friday, shortly following the announcement of the Gaza operation, and was meant as an attempt to draw first blood in the battle against Islamic Jihad.
Maj. 'B,' a commander in the Armored Corps' 7th Armored Brigade who took part in the attack, said the forces acted "ethically, professionally and with precision."
"As we received approval to fire at the outpost, the tank crew identified a child along with a man in the vicinity of the strike target," Maj. 'B' recalled. "Due to the presence of civilians, the tank commander immediately called to halt fire. We stood by until the two were no longer in the area."
"Following several minutes, the crew successfully carried out the attack," he added.
Israeli PR exercise or a show of morals?
This is part of a continued effort by Israel to improve its public relations in terms of its legitimacy to damage the infrastructure of terrorist organizations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Israel also fought off accusations of targeting civilian targets following an explosion in Jabaliya that killed four Palestinian children, among others. However, it was soon brought to light that the explosion was caused by the misfiring of a Islamic Jihad rocket targeting the Jewish state. It was fired from a mosque, compounding the war crime of acting from civilian populations onto the war crime of attacking them.
Two videos, one from Palestinian sources that was spread on social media and another grainy, black-and-white one from the IDF, showed what actually took place.
Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.