Israel Says Airstrike Likely Killed Three Hostages in Gaza in November

The Israeli army states that the results of its intelligence agencies' investigation indicate that it is 'highly likely' that an Israeli airstrike was responsible for the deaths of three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in November 2023. The intelligence agencies of the Israeli army announced the results of their extensive evaluations conducted over the past ten months regarding this incident to the families of the three deceased hostages on Sunday, September 16. The Israeli army stated in a press release: 'The findings suggest that it is highly likely that these three individuals were killed during an airstrike by the Israeli army aimed at eliminating Ahmad Ghandour, a commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, on November 10, 2023.' These evaluations are based on intelligence findings, pathology results, forensic institute outcomes, and the location where the bodies of the three hostages were found. The Israeli army claims to have extracted the bodies of the three hostages from Gaza. According to the Israeli army, investigations show that the three hostages were held in a series of tunnels from which Ahmad Ghandour directed operations. The bodies of these three hostages, named Nick Beiser, Ron Sherman, and Elia Toldano (French-Israeli), were delivered to Israel one month after their deaths. The Israeli army states that at the time of the attack, it had no information regarding the presence of the hostages at the target location and that based on the available information, it appeared they were located elsewhere. Therefore, the area was not considered a location where the presence of hostages was likely. After ten months, when the results of the Israeli army's intelligence evaluations were announced, Ron Sherman's mother criticized the army's approach in an interview with Israel's Kan network. In recent months, the Israeli army has repeatedly reported the transfer of its hostages' bodies from Gaza, which has raised concerns and criticisms, especially from the families of the remaining hostages and their supporters. Recently, the Israeli army announced the discovery of the bodies of six other Israeli hostages, including two women and four men, in a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza, stating that they had been 'murdered shortly before their discovery.' Following the discovery of these six Israeli hostages' bodies in a tunnel in Rafah, the families of the remaining hostages held captive by the extremist group Hamas called on the people of Israel to 'shake' the country with their protests. In response to this call, people took to the streets of Israel, chanting 'Now! Now!' demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach an agreement with Hamas to secure the return of the remaining hostages. The war in Gaza began after the extremist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,205 people, most of whom were civilians. This extremist group, recognized as terrorist by the US and Europe, also took 251 hostages, of whom the Israeli army states 33 have been killed and 97 are still being held in Gaza. Israel's retaliatory military action in Gaza has so far resulted in at least 41,206 deaths. Meanwhile, the US is preparing a 'final plan' for a ceasefire in the Gaza war to present to both Israeli and Hamas sides. Israel insists that Hamas, by raising new demands regarding Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, has derailed the mediating countries' efforts.