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TEL AVIV – The results of two Israeli investigations into the country's Gaza offensive have shed new light on a war described as one of the most devastating wars of the century, even as Israeli officials say there will be no let-up.
Investigations announced Thursday found that the shooting by Israeli forces of three Israeli hostages who tried to escape “could have been prevented” and that an attack on a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in December resulted in unintentional damage to surrounding buildings – and Possibly also at the accommodations – I lived in them.
They raise the key issues condemning the offensive both internationally and domestically: the catastrophic civilian casualties and the government's failure to do more to protect the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip and secure their release.
Investigation found that the IDF's killing of three hostages “could have been prevented.”
Hamas members and allied fighters overran southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. A brief lull in fighting secured the release of 110 prisoners, but more than 100 remain in Gaza or have been killed.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, Israel's aggressive response to the attacks – a mission to destroy Hamas – has killed 21,507 people and injured 55,915 in the enclave. Nearly 2 million people have been displaced and struggle daily to access food, water and medical care.
The United States, one of Israel's last remaining supporters in its offensive, has put pressure on the country to reduce civilian deaths, but Israel remains determined to press on.
On December 24, Israeli warplanes carried out attacks on the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza. The director of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Iyad Abu Zaher, said at the time that at least 80 people had been killed in the bombing of an apartment block.
The IDF said Thursday it attacked two targets “near which Hamas operatives were located.” An initial investigation into the attack “found that additional buildings near the targets were also struck during the attacks, likely resulting in unintentional harm to additional uninvolved civilians.”
An investigation is ongoing, and the IDF has not officially explained why the attack was so destructive. But a military official told Israel's public broadcaster Kan that “the weaponry did not correspond to the nature of the attack, so significant collateral damage was caused.” A U.S. intelligence assessment earlier this month found that nearly half of the munitions The bombs used by Israel in Gaza since the start of the war were unguided bombs that, according to experts, can miss a target by up to 30 meters.
But despite international calls to halt or limit the offensive, Israel continues to beat the war drum. “Whoever talks about a stop – there is no such thing,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip this week. “We're not stopping. The war will continue until the end, until we end it, nothing less.”
Some families of hostages still in the enclave have expressed concerns that this fervent commitment to destroying Hamas will put their loved ones in further danger – a fear reinforced by the findings of a separate IDF investigation into the killing Three hostages were confirmed to have been shot in Gaza by Israeli soldiers.
“We were very scared when our greatest fear became reality,” Lior Peri, whose 79-year-old father Chaim is still in Gaza, told The Washington Post.
The investigation found that the IDF “failed in its mission to rescue the hostages” and that “the entire chain of command feels responsible” and “regrets this outcome.”
While the soldiers “took the appropriate actions based on their best understanding of the event at that moment,” the deaths “could have been prevented,” the IDF said Thursday. According to the report, soldiers raiding buildings in Gaza City on December 10 heard cries for help in Hebrew. They assessed it as a Hamas trap, part of a tactic the army says the group has used in the past.
On December 14, they saw signs saying “SOS” and “Save three kidnapped people.” A day later, an IDF soldier shot three people, killing two. Everyone was shirtless and one was waving a white flag. The third resurfaced after commanders called for a ceasefire. But a soldier who the IDF said did not hear the orders shot them dead.
Tal Heinrich, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister's Office, said Friday: “It should not have happened and we have learned difficult lessons and our forces are implementing the lessons we have learned.” She did not answer a question about the March 24 investigation . December.
Miri Eisen, an IDF reserve colonel and director of the International Counterterrorism Institute at Reichman University, said both investigations were evidence that the IDF is holding itself accountable. “You have to make sure the soldiers understand the depth of their actions,” she said. “If you go beyond what you’re allowed to do, you have to hold yourself accountable.”
The murder of the three hostages outraged much of the Israeli public. Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv this weekend, calling on Netanyahu to do more to release prisoners. Public broadcaster Kan reported that the government's war cabinet met on Thursday evening to discuss a possible new deal on the release of hostages, but no real proposal emerged. Hamas said only an end to the fighting would lead to the release of more prisoners.
“Until Israeli aggression ends, there will be no prisoner exchange agreement and no negotiations under fire,” Bassem Naim, a member of the Hamas politburo based in Doha, Qatar, said in a video statement. “In the meantime, we can say that we are open to any initiative that can end this Israeli war of genocide.”
Attacks on Gaza continued unabated, with a landing near Kuwait's Rafah hospital on Thursday, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens, the hospital director said. An estimated 100,000 people have fled to the crowded southern city, where living conditions are terrible. Some have sought refuge in the port of Rafah, but they say they feel no safer here than in the central Gaza Strip, from which they fled.
“I escaped death only to find that the situation here is just as dangerous,” said Ihab Al-Daya, a resident of the central Gaza Strip who fled south. “There is no water, no food and no place to sleep,” he said. “Grenades are constantly being fired at us.”
While the plight of Palestinian civilians pushed into ever-smaller areas of an already cramped enclave has sparked protests and outrage around the world, the Israeli government is under little pressure at home to tone down the attack.
While government disapproval of the events of October 7 remains strong among Israelis, popular support for the war is also strong. But parts of society have begun to call for an end to hostilities. Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening for a rally calling for a ceasefire.
“I came to protest against two things in particular,” said Oren Ben Natan, one of the participants. “First, how our government abandoned 108 hostages still being held by Hamas. And secondly, the massacre in Gaza.” The 24-year-old held a sign that read “There is no security without a political solution,” while onlookers across the street insulted the demonstrators.
“Apart from the fact that it is a terrible war crime,” Ben Natan said, “it is 100 percent clear to me that this will not lead us to peace and tranquility, but to the next round, which is for both Israelis and for Palestinians will be deadlier.”
Hazem Balousha in Amman and Paul Schemm in London contributed to this report.
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