An Israeli army investigation hinted at the possible responsibility of its forces for the killing of 6 Israeli prisoners in a raid on an area in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.
The army stated that on August 20, its forces removed the bodies of 6 “hostages” and 6 militants from a tunnel located in the vicinity of the area it targeted last February.
According to the investigation, the results of which were published on Wednesday, the bodies of the six prisoners were found with traces of gunshot wounds, and the bodies of the six gunmen who were holding them were found next to them.
The investigation revealed that on February 14, the Israeli Air Force carried out what it described as a precise raid on infrastructure in Khan Yunis to target leaders of the Hamas movement.
The investigation concluded that there was a high probability that the deaths of those who were in the tunnel were due to the raid that occurred in an area close to them.
The Israeli army indicated that if it had known about the presence of “hostages” in the place, it would not have carried out any raid.
The Israeli army also stated that one possible scenario was that the six “hostages” were killed by militants simultaneously with the bombing.
An Israeli army investigation: On August 20, we brought out from a tunnel that was next to the area we targeted the bodies of 6 kidnapped persons and 6 militants. We found marks of gunfire on the bodies of the kidnapped persons, but we did not find any similar marks on the bodies of the militants. #Gaza_War #News pic.twitter.com/hdaj0dxCPO
– Tel Aviv Tribune Channel (@AJArabic) December 4, 2024
Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 12 reported from the families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza that the army admitted to them that it had killed the six prisoners in a raid on a tunnel in Khan Yunis.
Israeli Army Radio quoted the families of the prisoners as saying that the results of this investigation are further evidence that military pressure leads to the death of the “hostages.”
The granddaughter of one of the six Israeli prisoners said, “The army apologized to the families for this major mistake that led to the killing of the hostages.”
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced the day before yesterday, Monday, that 33 Israeli prisoners in its custody have been killed since October 2023, and confirmed that most of them were killed by the Israeli army’s bombing of various areas of the Gaza Strip.
The movement repeatedly stressed that any prisoner exchange agreement must achieve an end to the aggression against the Gaza Strip and the return of the displaced to their areas.
Source : The island + Israeli press + Agencies
