The presence of Israeli troops in the Rafah region in southern Gaza likely led to the killing of six hostages last August.
These are the conclusions of an investigation carried out by the Jewish state army.
According to the latest count, of the 251 people kidnapped on October 7, 2023, 96 are still being held in Gaza, of whom 34 have been declared dead.
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Israel and Hamas at war
The observation comes from the Israeli army itself. According to a military investigation, the conclusions of which were published on Tuesday, December 24, the presence of troops operating in the Rafah region, in the south of the Gaza Strip, probably led to the assassination of six hostages by Hamas fighters in August.
The bodies of hostages Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino were found by the Israeli army in an underground well in Gaza at the end of August. The Israeli army then indicated that the six hostages had been killed just before the soldiers reached them, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having specified that they had been “executed” with a bullet “in the head”.
Activities that had an “influence”
The Israeli army, which ordered an investigation, indicated on Tuesday that the “The army's ground activities, although gradual and cautious, had a circumstantial influence on the terrorists' decision to kill the six hostages.” “The chief of staff determined, based on the investigation, that the hostages were killed by fire from Hamas terrorists, while army forces were operating in the area.”
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In a statement released later Tuesday, the Hostage Families Forum, the main association of relatives of hostages captured during the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, called for the return of all hostages still held in Gaza. “It is time to bring back all the hostages. We need an agreement that guarantees the return of all hostages within a rapid and predetermined time frame,” he declared.
In recent days, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, have taken place in Doha, reviving hopes of an agreement. The Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of at least 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 96 are still being held in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the Israeli army. More than 45,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli military campaign in retaliation, the majority civilians, according to data from the Hamas government's Health Ministry for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.
