Military says no action will be taken against soldiers responsible for shelling that killed 21 members of the Samouni family in 2009

The Israeli military has closed its file on the killing of 21 members of a Palestinian family during the Gaza war in 2009, saying there were no grounds for criminal or disciplinary action against those responsible for the shelling of the house in which civilians were sheltering.

"None of the persons involved … acted negligently in a manner giving rise to criminal responsibility," concluded the military advocate general following an internal investigation. The decisions of the brigade commander "did not deviate from the boundaries of discretion that a 'reasonable military commander' operating in similar circumstances possesses".

The investigation "comprehensively refuted" claims that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had intentionally targeted civilians or had acted in a reckless manner, it said.

Twenty-one members of the extended Samouni family were killed on 5 January 2009, nine days after Israel's onslaught on Gaza began. About 100 members of the family, including women, children, babies and the elderly, had been ordered by the IDF to crowd into a house amid fierce fighting.

Survivors said they felt relatively secure because they were following IDF instructions. However, the following day, three or four missiles struck the house. Nine children were among the dead and medical access to the dozens of injured was denied for two days.

The commander of the Givati Brigade, Colonel Ilan Malka, who gave the order for the strike, reportedly told investigators he believed militants were in the building and was unaware of the civilian presence.

The military advocate general said the military operation took place mostly in a heavily populated urban environment, and rockets had been fired from the vicinity before the IDF launched an air strike. It added that lessons should be drawn "in order to prevent the reoccurrence of similar incidents in the future".

The Israeli human rights organisation, B'Tselem, which filed a complaint with the IDF over the incident, said it was unacceptable that no one had been found responsible for an action that led to the death of 21 civilians. "The way the army has exempted itself of responsibility for this event … is intolerable," said Yael Stein. An investigation process independent of the army was needed, Stein added.

Salah Samouni, who survived the shelling, told the Ynet website he was outraged about the conclusion of the investigation. "The senior officer who authorised the bombing became a heralded officer at the expense of our children's blood and the people he killed," he said.

A report by South African judge Richard Goldstone on behalf of the United Nations examined in detail the Samouni family incident. It concluded the deaths were the result of "Israeli fire intentionally directed at them" in breach of the Geneva conventions.

The Goldstone report said Israel had repeatedly violated international law and possibly committed war crimes during the conflict, which Israel named Operation Cast Lead. It also accused Hamas of war crimes.

About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the three-week conflict.