In Israel, the military says an internal investigation has concluded Israeli forces were not behind Friday’s bombing that killed seven Palestinian civilians on a Gaza beach.

• Israeli Army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz: “Today, we are presenting the first step of our investigation that started immediately after the incident and final results of this investigation are that we can say, surely, that the IDF is not responsible for the incident in which seven Palestinians were killed.”

Israel maintains the bombing was caused by either a mine planted by Hamas or unexploded ordinance left on the beach. Palestinians and human rights groups immediately criticized the Israeli response. Marc Garlasco, a former Pentagon battle expert now working for Human Rights Watch, spoke after investigating the scene of the bombing.

• Marc Garlasco:”It’s clear based upon the forensic evidence that we have found on the ground, based upon the medical reports we have received from the doctors and the hospitals here, based upon witness statements that the family members were killed by 155 millimetre howitzer shell.”

Garlasco says the shell likely came from a land-based Israeli firing device, not a naval ship as had been previously alleged.