Earlier in September, Israeli media reported that three Israeli hostages found in the Gaza Strip in December 2023 had died due to the Israeli airstrike on Palestinian fighters in the enclave. Later, the Jewish state rejected media accusations concerning covering up data of the IDF involvement in hostage deaths.
“The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF airstrike, during the elimination of the Hamas Northern Brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November 10th, 2023. This is a high-probability assessment based on all of the available information, but it is not possible to definitively determine the circumstances of their deaths,” the IDF said in a statement.
The conclusions were made based on all the data including the location of where the bodies were found, forensic experts' conclusions, research into the effectiveness of the ammunition used, among the others, the military officials said.
“The investigation indicates that the three hostages were held in the tunnel complex from which Ghandour operated. At the time of the strike, the IDF did not have information about the presence of hostages in the targeted compound. Furthermore, there was information suggesting that they were located elsewhere, and thus the area was not designated as one with suspected presence of hostages,” the statement read.
The Israeli data shows there are still 101 hostages held by Hamas, including those considered dead. Through a number of operations and humanitarian efforts, Over 150 people were returned from Hamas captivity.