Israeli Army Admits Possible Role in Deaths of Three Hostages in Gaza Strip

The Israeli army has acknowledged the possibility that three hostages whose bodies were found in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, nine months ago may have been killed by an accidental bombing by its own forces.

The Israeli army released a statement regarding the cause of death of the two soldiers and one civilian whose bodies were found on December 15 last year, stating that “it is very likely that they died as a ‘side effect’ of the military air strike during the murder of Ahmed al-Ghandour.” The army added that while they cannot determine the circumstances of the deaths with certainty, considering all the data, it is a “very realistic estimate.”

On November 10 last year, the Israeli army bombed a tunnel in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, where al-Ghandour, the head of the Northern Brigade of the armed Palestinian political faction Hamas, and others were hiding. Unbeknownst to the Israeli soldiers, three hostages were also trapped in the tunnel at the time of the bombing.

The Israeli military maintains that it does not carry out airstrikes in areas where it believes there are hostages. However, airstrikes are often carried out in situations where there is insufficient information, resulting in hostage casualties.