Israel admits three hostages 'likely' killed by IDF's airstrike in Gaza last year

The Israeli military announced on Sunday that there is a "high probability" that three hostages, whose bodies were found in December, were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last November.

The investigation identified the hostages as Cpl. Nik Beizer, Sgt. Ron Sherman, and Elia Toledano.

According to the military's findings, the hostages were likely killed during an airstrike targeting Hamas Northern Brigade commander Ahmed Ghandour on November 10, 2023.

The assessment was based on several factors, including the location of the bodies relative to the airstrike's impact, intelligence findings, pathological reports, and conclusions from the Forensic Medicine Institute.

Although the evidence suggests a high likelihood that the hostages died as a result of the airstrike, the exact circumstances of their deaths remain inconclusive.

On December 14, Israeli forces found the bodies of the three hostages in the Jabaliya tunnel network and returned them to Israel for burial.

A week later, Hamas released a propaganda video displaying the bodies and claiming they were killed in the airstrike.

In January, the IDF shared a pathology report with the hostages' families, revealing that the bodies showed no signs of trauma or gunfire, indicating they were not directly killed by the strike.

Throughout the conflict, the IDF has stated that it avoids targeting areas where hostages are known to be located. However, in some cases, hostages have been unintentionally harmed due to gaps in intelligence.

This is the first instance in which the Israeli military has connected the deaths of hostages to its airstrikes, sparking renewed debate about the risks of hostage rescue operations.

Recently, Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages reportedly killed by Hamas just before Israeli forces arrived. The army had also previously acknowledged accidentally killing three hostages in December who had escaped Hamas captivity in Gaza City.

Out of the approximately 250 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, Israel now estimates that 101 remain in captivity, with 35 presumed dead.

More than 100 hostages were freed during a ceasefire in November as part of an exchange deal between Israel and Palestine.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an October 7 attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 93,000, according to local health authorities.

More than 11 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.