Military says conclusions of its probe into the deaths of the captives counsel an Israeli air strike probably killed them in November.
After denials for months, the Israeli navy says there’s a “excessive chance” its air strike was chargeable for the deaths of three Israeli captives in Gaza in November.
The navy on Sunday mentioned it was unaware the captives had been current in a tunnel within the Palestinian territory once they launched the assault on November 10, 2023.
The our bodies of the three captives – Corporal Nik Beizer, Sergeant Ron Sherman and French-Israeli nationwide Elia Toledano – had been recovered on December 14. However the reason for demise was not decided.
“The findings of the investigation counsel a excessive chance that the three had been killed on account of a byproduct of an [Israeli army] air strike, in the course of the elimination of the Hamas Northern Brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November tenth, 2023,” the navy mentioned in a press release.
The navy mentioned its investigation revealed that the three captives had been held in a tunnel advanced from which Ghandour operated.
“On the time of the strike, the [army] didn’t have details about the presence of hostages within the focused compound,” the navy assertion mentioned.
All three captives had been amongst nearly 250 people kidnapped by the Palestinian group Hamas in its October 7 assault contained in the Israeli territory.
In its report, the military mentioned “it isn’t doable to undoubtedly decide the circumstances of their deaths”.
The conclusions might add additional stress on the Israeli authorities to strike a deal to convey residence the remaining captives held by Hamas.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent Hamdah Salhut mentioned the Israeli military’s admission might be “an embarrassment” for the federal government. Salhut was reporting from Amman, Jordan as a result of Al Jazeera has been banned by the Israeli authorities.
“There have been a sequence of great intelligence and safety failures that the navy has gone by way of all through this warfare, essentially the most notable of them again in December when the Israeli military shot and killed three captives within the Gaza Strip,” she mentioned.
Salhut mentioned the most recent admission by the navy “shouldn’t be being obtained fairly nicely as a result of there are households of captives calling for a deal, fearing this actual sort of factor”.
“It’s actually a humiliation on all scales, not simply politically however security-wise as nicely, that the military made this admission so many months later.”