The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released its investigation on Sunday, confirming that it mistakenly killed three Israeli prisoners along with the commander of Hamas’ northern Gaza brigade, Ahmed Ghandour, during an airstrike on November 10th of last year.
The investigation’s wording states that it is “highly likely” that the airstrike caused their deaths, although it says it cannot be 100% certain of the cause.
Nevertheless, the investigation indicates that the location where the bodies were found, their condition, the pathological findings, further reports from the National Forensic Institute, and the operational investigation of the battlefield situation all strongly pointed towards the IDF being responsible for the deaths by mistake.
Officials from the IDF informed the families of Sergeant Ron Sherman and Captain Nik Beizer, both aged 19, and civilian Elia Toledano, 28, that IDF fire was responsible for their deaths.
The trio was captured during the attack on October 7th and was extracted from a Hamas tunnel in Jabalia on December 14th.
In January, the IDF refuted Hamas’ claims that the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike, stating that a pathological report showed no signs of trauma or gunfire on their bodies, indicating they were not killed directly in the airstrike or other IDF actions.
Sherman’s mother, Dr. Maayan Sherman, a veterinarian, argued that the report’s results suggested he was killed by toxic gas allegedly used by the IDF in the tunnels, accusing the government of knowingly putting the hostages in danger.
“Not by Hamas, think more in the direction of Auschwitz and showers, but without Nazis and without Hamas. Not by accidental fire, not by friendly fire, but by premeditated murder: bombs with toxic gas,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
In November, the IDF carried out an airstrike near the location where the bodies were found. The IDF investigation at the time revealed that the army was unaware of hostages being held in that area, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
