Tactic criticized by UN commission used “extensively” during Israel’s deadly 2014 bombing of Gaza

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 4-27-2016

U.S. Army helicopters arrive in Mosul. (Photo: United States Forces Iraq/flickr/cc)

An Israeli tactic deemed “ineffective” at preventing civilian causalities by a United Nations commission has now been adopted by the United States in its fight against ISIS, according to a U.S. military official.

Air Force Maj. Peter Gersten, the deputy commander for operations and intelligence for the U.S.-led coalition, explained at a press briefing Tuesday that the tactic dubbed “knocking on the roof” was, in fact, used during a strike in Mosul, Iraq against a “major distributor of funds to Daesh fighters.” A woman the military had seen come and go with her children from the building died in the strike—”an unfortunality,” as Gersten called it. Continue reading →