Pathology reports indicated no signs of trauma or gunfire on the bodies.
By Pesach Benson, TPS
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.”
Ghandour was the commander of Hamas’s Northern Brigade. Five other senior Hamas commanders were also killed in the strike.
The army added, “At the time of the strike, the IDF did not have information about the presence of hostages in the targeted compound. Furthermore, there was information suggesting that they were located elsewhere, and thus the area was not designated as one with suspected presence of hostages.”
Beizer, a 19-year-old resident of Beersheva, was a driver for the Erez District Coordination Office, which is a liaison between Israel and the Palestinians. Beizer was last seen on October 7 in the area of the Erez Crossing at the Israel-Gaza border.
Sherman, a 19-year-old from the Negev town of Lehavim, was a non-commissioned officer in the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration. He was a dual Israeli-Argentine national.
Toledano, 28, was taken captive at the Supernova music festival on Kibbutz Reim.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead.
Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.