Israeli army admits killing hostages in Gaza air strike

The Israeli army has admitted that the three hostages whose bodies were discovered last December were killed by Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

The army has officially informed the families of hostages Ron Sherman (a soldier), Nik Beizer (a soldier), and Elia Toledano that they were killed in an air strike on Gaza, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

On Monday, Channel 12 reported that the Israeli army was unaware of the presence of the three hostages “near a senior Hamas official who was targeted,” resulting in their deaths alongside him.

The channel noted that the Israeli army knew about these details since last February but chose not to release them to the public.

In December, the Israeli army announced that the bodies of three hostages taken alive by Hamas on Oct. 7 had been recovered.

At the time, the Israeli army stated that their bodies were found in a tunnel in Gaza and confirmed that an investigation into the incident had been launched.

According to the broadcaster, “In January, the families of the three hostages were informed of the pathological findings, which indicated that the two soldiers and the third hostage were in the tunnel where the commander of the northern division in Gaza, Ahmad Ghandour, was killed.”

However, the army refused to acknowledge this information, claiming that the cause of death could not be determined, whether from suffocation or poisoning.

As the families of the slain hostages demanded answers, "additional tests were conducted, which revealed that the hostages were killed in an Israeli army attack, and it was decided not to release this information."

However, “senior army officials, including the Chief of Staff (Herzi) Halevi, decided not to make this public,” according to the broadcaster.

In response, Channel 12 confirmed that Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari denied the allegations that the chief of staff had concealed the investigation as false.

The Israeli army has previously admitted on several occasions to the killing of Israeli hostages in Gaza by air strikes or direct gunfire.

Israel currently imprisons at least 9,500 Palestinians, with an estimated 101 Israelis being held in Gaza.

Hamas has maintained that several hostages have been killed in relentless Israeli air strikes.

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Source: TRT