Israeli army says three hostages killed in November “probably” killed by airstrike

The Israeli army announced on Sunday, September 15, that three hostages who died in Gaza in November have been “probably” killed by an Israeli strike, according to the results of an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths. In December, Israel brought back the remains of soldiers Nick Beizer and Ron Sherman and French-Israeli Elya Tolédano from the Gaza Strip, where they were being held hostage.

The army said they were killed “during the elimination of the commander of the Hamas Northern Brigade, Ahmed Ghandour”. “The investigation indicates that the three hostages were being held in an underground complex from where Ghandour was operating.”the statement added, specifying that the army had not “no information on the presence of hostages in the targeted complex” by the strike. Hamas confirmed at the end of November that Ahmed Ghandour had been killed by the Israeli army.

Since October 7, 27 hostages have died in the Gaza Strip. Of the 251 people abducted in the Hamas attack, 97 are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 33 of whom have been declared dead by the Israeli military. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has left at least 41,206 people dead in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas government’s Gaza Health Ministry.