A/HRC/12/48 page 140 588. The Mission agrees that this passage correctly reflects both the nature of the intent required and the relevant duties of a commander. 589. Even if the Israeli armed forces were under fire from anti-tank missiles from Palestinian armed groups at the time, all of the information referred to above indicates that the commanders in question did not take all feasible precautions in the choice of methods and means of warfare with a view to avoiding or, in any event, to minimizing incidental civilian casualties or civilian property damage. 590. The Mission is not attempting to second-guess with hindsight the decisions of commanders. The fact is that the events in question continued over a period of some three hours. In these circumstances the Israeli armed forces were not confronted by surprise fire to which they had to respond with whatever materiel was available to them at the time. If they were faced with anti-tank missiles, that was hardly something of which they had been unaware for an appreciable time. 591. Statements made to the Mission by senior UNRWA international staff indicate that they were unaware of any sustained fire at the relevant time from anywhere in the nearby areas. The Mission notes that official statements made on 15 January by Israel’s Prime Minister had indicated with complete certainty that firing by Palestinian armed groups had occurred from within the UNRWA compound.371 This was later contradicted and corrected to state that the armed groups occupied positions near to but outside the compound.372 The Mission considers it important to record that the initial allegation was incorrect and this appears now to be accepted as such by the Israeli. 592. The Mission concludes that the Israeli commanders knew of the location of the UNRWA premises and indeed of the layout of the compound in terms of the most vulnerable areas and especially the fuel depot before the shelling took place around 8 a.m. 593. Even if the Israeli Government’s position regarding the position of Palestinian armed groups is taken at face value, the Mission concludes that, given the evident threat of substantial damage to several hundred civilian lives and to civilian property in using white phosphorous in that particular line of fire, the advantage gained from using white phosphorous to screen Israeli armed forces’ tanks from anti-tank fire from armed opposition groups could not be deemed proportionate. 594. Having been fully alerted not to the risks but to the actual consequences of the course of action, Israeli armed forces continued with precisely the same conduct as a result of which further shells hit the compound. Such conduct, in the Mission’s view, reflects a reckless disregard for the consequences of the choice of the means adopted in combating the anti-tank fire Israel’s Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, told the United Nations Secretary-General that troops shelled the building in response to Hamas gunfire coming from within, but nonetheless said it should not have happened. Israeli troops “were attacked from there and the response was harsh”, Olmert said. “It is absolutely true that we were attacked from that place, but the consequences are very sad and we apologize for it”, he added. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/ world/2009/jan/15/israel-gaza-offensive-truce-talks. The same quotation is reported in multiple sources. 371 372 ”The operation in Gaza…”, para. 347.