Two senior officers of the Israel Defense Force have been disciplined as a result of the death of an Irish UNIFIL soldier by Israeli tank fire in the south Lebanon security zone on January 10, the IDF announced Wednesday. The officers were not identified.
In addition to the disciplinary measures, the nature of which was not stated, the IDF has reportedly issued new operational instructions to its units based on lessons learned from the incident and is examining new methods of identifying and safeguarding positions and personnel of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The Irish soldier, Dermot McLaughlin, 33, was killed when an Israeli tank squad opened fire on suspected terrorist positions in Barashit village where a UNIFIL command post is located. Chief of Staff Gen. Moshe Levy called the incident a “shameful mistake.” Meanwhile, McLaughlin’s widow angrily rejected an Israeli offer of 60,000 Pounds in compensation. She called it “arrogant, insensitive and ill-timed.” McLaughlin was the father of five children.
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