Israeli general did not order tank to open fire on hostages held by terrorists, probe finds

IDF investigation exonerates general of accusations he ordered a tank to open fire on a group of Hamas terrorists holed up in a kibbutz building, endangering the hostages they held.

By World Israel News Staff

An internal investigation by the Israeli military has exonerated an IDF general of allegations that he ordered an armored force to open fire on Hamas terrorists using Israeli hostages as human shields, knowingly threatening the captives.

Brigadier General Barak Hiram, commander of the IDF’s 99th Division who was considered an up-and-coming officer prior to October 7th, was accused of ordering a tank unit to fire at a private home in Kibbutz Be’eri, after a group of Hamas hostages holed up in the home held Israeli captives while engaging Israeli forces outside the building in a fierce gun battle.

Terrorists who overran Be’eri on the morning of October 7th later held 14 captives in the home of Pesi Cohen, using the hostages as human shields while firing at Israeli soldiers who had surrounded the home.

At approximately 5:25 p.m. that day, during the gunbattle, an Israeli tank positioned near the house fired four shots, after a terrorist launched a rocket-propelled grenade.

The tank fire occurred in the midst of heated negotiations with the holed-up terrorists, after one had surrendered himself at 4:00 p.m. The negotiations were terminated after the RPG attack, however.

Hiram was accused of ordering the tank to fire directly at the home, with the intention of killing the terrorists, with the understanding that all of the hostages would be placed in mortal danger as well.

Two Israeli captives were ultimately killed by the tank fire.

According to the IDF probe, however, only one of the four shots were aimed directly at the Pesi Cohen house, and only one struck the edge of the building, apparently the result of a misfire. The fourth shell was supposed to have been fired at the top of the house, away from where the hostages were being held, but accidentally hit a lower point on the building.

The four shots had in fact been fired prior to Barak’s arrival at the scene, and were intended not to eliminate the terrorists, but rather to pressure them to surrender. The shots were fired on the orders of the Shin Bet internal security agency, and the police department’s YAMAM special forces unit.

In addition, the shell which apparently killed the two hostages had not directly impacted the area where the captives were being held, but had resulted in glass shattering and spraying on the hostages, fatally wounding two.

While Hiram has been exonerated by the probe, the IDF has yet to drop the restrictions imposed on his career which currently bar him from being promoted.

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