The Israeli military said it was “highly likely” that three hostages whose bodies were found in the tunnel late last year were mistakenly killed in an attack that also killed Ahmed al-Ghandour, head of Hamas’ northern Gaza brigade, in November.
The families of Colonel Nick Beizer (19) and Sergeant Ron Sherman (28), who were abducted by Hamas on October 7, and French-Israeli civilian Elia Toledano (28), were informed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials last week that a comprehensive investigation had revealed that their families had lost their lives as a result of IDF actions.
The military said their bodies were recovered from the Jabariyah tunnel on December 14, but the most likely cause of death was only determined recently.
“Investigations suggest that the three were likely killed as a result of the fallout from an IDF airstrike,” the statement said. “Taking all data into consideration, this is a highly likely estimate, but it is not possible to determine with certainty the circumstances of their deaths.”
The hostages’ families were initially told they had been killed by Hamas, and in January the IDF denied Hamas’ claims that the hostages had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The results of the investigation could put pressure on the government to reach an agreement to return the remaining hostages being held by Hamas.
Since the remains were discovered, the mothers of both soldiers have been demanding details about how their sons died. “We need the truth to come out about this whole thing,” Sherman’s mother, Maayan Sherman, told The Wall Street Journal in May. “Even if the truth is, ‘We had to kill them.'”
The November airstrike targeted al-Ghandour, who was hiding in a tunnel, and an IDF investigation at the time concluded that the military was unaware that there were hostages at the site during the strike.
“At the time of the attack, the IDF had no information that hostages were present on the target compound,” the military said. “Furthermore, there was information indicating that the hostages were located elsewhere, so the area was not designated as a suspected hostage location.”