The families of three hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza in December were likely inadvertently killed by Israeli fire, the Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday.
The bodies of soldiers Sgt. Ron Sherman and Cpl. Nik Beizer, as well as civilian Elia Toledano, were found in a tunnel in the northern Gaza area of Jabaliya on December 14. Pathology reports indicated no signs of trauma or gunfire on the bodies.
“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.
“This assessment is based on the location of where their bodies were found in relation to the strike’s impact, performance analysis of the strike, intelligence findings, the results of the pathological reports, and the conclusions of the Forensic Medicine Institute.”