Israeli investigation finds army's actions in Rafah likely behind the death of 6 hostages

An internal investigation by Israel has revealed that actions by its military forces might have played a role in the killing of six hostages in Gaza in August this year.

Six hostages –  Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino – were killed by Hamas after they were shot dead.

The deaths of the hostages sparked public outrage with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets demanding the government reach a ceasefire deal that will potentially see the release of the remaining hostages.

What has the probe found?

In late August, after troops found the six hostages’ bodies in an underground shaft in Rafah, the military said they were killed just before soldiers reached them.

Netanyahu said at the time that the six were “executed” with a bullet “to the head”.

The military probe into their deaths found that Israeli “ground activities in the area, although gradual and cautious, had a circumstantial influence on the terrorists’ decision to murder the six hostages”, the army said in a statement on Tuesday.

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The probe added that “based on the investigation, the hostages were murdered by gunfire from Hamas terrorists” while Israeli forces were operating in the Tel al-Sultan area.

It also said that Israel’s chief of the general staff “concluded that this was a painful and tragic event, with the extremely difficult outcome of the brutal murder of six hostages by Hamas”.

‘Time to bring back all hostages’

The army probe has renewed a push to reach the Gaza ceasefire deal.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group responded to the army’s statement by calling for action to bring back all remaining hostages.

“The time has come to bring back all the hostages. We need a deal that will ensure the return of all hostages within a quick and predetermined timeframe,” it said in a statement.

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Meanwhile, Hamas and Israel traded accusations on Wednesday over delays in finalising a ceasefire and hostage release agreement for Gaza, despite continued efforts by mediators to broker a deal in the latest round of negotiations.

With inputs from AFP