<p>The Israeli army said Tuesday that a strike in Gaza that killed nine members of the same family had been due to a faulty assessment of the risk to civilians.</p>.<p>The November 14 airstrike targeted the home of Rasmi Abu Malhous, described by Israel as a commander in Islamic Jihad, the militant Palestinian movement against which Israel had launched a three-day campaign.</p>.<p>He and eight members of his family were killed by the attack, including five children.</p>.<p>A statement from the army said that intelligence collected ahead of the attack had indicated that the residence "was designated as an Islamic Jihad terror organisation military compound".</p>.<p>The army had "estimated" that "civilians would not be harmed as a result of an attack" on the site, which was not believed to be accessible to members of the public.</p>.<p>An army inquiry later found "that even though military activity was conducted in the compound, it was not a closed compound, and in reality civilians were present there," it said.</p>.<p>The army said it would learn from its "mistakes" to reduce "the recurrence of similar irregular events."</p>.<p>It stressed it had made "considerable efforts... to reduce the damage to non-combatants".</p>.<p>The military report also blamed Islamic Jihad for exploiting and endangering non-combatants "by placing its military assets in the heart of the civilian population and by deliberately acting from within densely populated civilian areas."</p>.<p>The three-day flareup began when Israel killed a senior Islamic Jihad official in Gaza on November 12.</p>.<p>The Islamist group, which is closely allied with Gaza's rulers Hamas, responded by firing more than 450 rockets at Israel.</p>.<p>During the confrontation, Israeli forces attacked dozens of targets in the enclave.</p>.<p>Palestinian officials said 35 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 wounded. There were no Israeli fatalities.</p>.<p>In its Tuesday report, the Israeli army said its November operation had been a success, dealing a blow to Islamic Jihad and serving to increase the security of Israeli civilians and help prevent "a wider military campaign."</p>
<p>The Israeli army said Tuesday that a strike in Gaza that killed nine members of the same family had been due to a faulty assessment of the risk to civilians.</p>.<p>The November 14 airstrike targeted the home of Rasmi Abu Malhous, described by Israel as a commander in Islamic Jihad, the militant Palestinian movement against which Israel had launched a three-day campaign.</p>.<p>He and eight members of his family were killed by the attack, including five children.</p>.<p>A statement from the army said that intelligence collected ahead of the attack had indicated that the residence "was designated as an Islamic Jihad terror organisation military compound".</p>.<p>The army had "estimated" that "civilians would not be harmed as a result of an attack" on the site, which was not believed to be accessible to members of the public.</p>.<p>An army inquiry later found "that even though military activity was conducted in the compound, it was not a closed compound, and in reality civilians were present there," it said.</p>.<p>The army said it would learn from its "mistakes" to reduce "the recurrence of similar irregular events."</p>.<p>It stressed it had made "considerable efforts... to reduce the damage to non-combatants".</p>.<p>The military report also blamed Islamic Jihad for exploiting and endangering non-combatants "by placing its military assets in the heart of the civilian population and by deliberately acting from within densely populated civilian areas."</p>.<p>The three-day flareup began when Israel killed a senior Islamic Jihad official in Gaza on November 12.</p>.<p>The Islamist group, which is closely allied with Gaza's rulers Hamas, responded by firing more than 450 rockets at Israel.</p>.<p>During the confrontation, Israeli forces attacked dozens of targets in the enclave.</p>.<p>Palestinian officials said 35 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 wounded. There were no Israeli fatalities.</p>.<p>In its Tuesday report, the Israeli army said its November operation had been a success, dealing a blow to Islamic Jihad and serving to increase the security of Israeli civilians and help prevent "a wider military campaign."</p>