THE Israeli military said yesterday it has reprimanded two high-ranking officers for approving the firing of artillery shells toward a UN compound during the Gaza Strip war last year – the first admission of any high-level wrongdoing during the offensive.

Israel rejected UN calls to open an independent inquiry into its conduct in last winter’s Gaza Strip war and said it would launch a diplomatic offensive to block any attempt to bring its soldiers before an international war crimes tribunal.

Israel said today it would not conduct an independent inquiry into its conduct in the Gaza Strip war, rejecting a key recommendation from an explosive UN report that accused the Jewish state of war crimes.