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3232Israel Army says ‘high probability’ IDF air strike killed 3 hostages in November
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Sun, 15 Sep 2024 14:23:12 +0000https://artifexnews.net/article68645566-ece/Read More “Israel Army says ‘high probability’ IDF air strike killed 3 hostages in November” »]]>
Israeli soldiers inspect the entrance to a reported tunnel, where the Israeli Army said Palestinian militants killed six hostages, in Rafah in the Gaza Strip on September 13, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups. Photo taken during a controlled tour and subsequently edited under the supervision of the Israeli military.
| Photo Credit: AFP
The Israeli military on Sunday (September 15, 2024) said there was a “high probability” an Israeli air strike was responsible for the deaths of three hostages who were killed in Gaza in November.
The bodies of the three hostages, Corporal Nik Beizer, Sergeant Ron Sherman and French-Israeli Elia Toledano, were brought back to Israel in December following their deaths the previous month.
“The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF air strike, during the elimination of the Hamas Northern Brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November 10th, 2023,” the military said in a statement, referring to the three captives.
“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.”
“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 military said.
The bodies of the three hostages were recovered on December 14.
The military said its investigation revealed that the three captives had been held in a tunnel complex from which Ghandour operated.
“At the time of the strike, the IDF did not have information about the presence of hostages in the targeted compound,” the military said.
“Furthermore, there was information suggesting that they were located elsewhere, and thus the area was not designated as one with suspected presence of hostages.”
Palestinians carry mock large keys during a mass ceremony to commemorate the Nakba Day, Arabic for catastrophe, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
As Israel keeps up its campaign against Hamas, Arab leaders are mapping out ways to support post-war Gaza, placing one major condition on their involvement: a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
Major obstacles lie ahead in gaining the support of both U.S. President Joe Biden and the Israeli government, which is currently led by hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch opponent of the two-state solution.
But the Arab quintet of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt have made clear that their financial and political support, which would be crucial to the future of the shattered Gaza Strip, comes at a cost.
“We have coordinated on this closely with the Palestinians. It needs to be truly a pathway to a Palestinian state,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh last month.
“Without a real political pathway… it would be very difficult for Arab countries to discuss how we are going to govern.”
It is not the first time Arab leaders have come together to chart a path towards a two-state solution, the cherished goal that they believe could defuse tensions in West Asia and help usher in a period of prosperity.
But with the Israel-Hamas war hobbling regional economies and spilling over into neighbouring countries, there is both urgency and opportunity.
Last month, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, European and Arab Foreign Ministers met to discuss how to advance the two-state solution.
Gaza will also be top of the agenda when leaders from the 22-member Arab League meet in Bahrain on Thursday.
Two goals
Arab countries are “pressuring the United States to achieve two things: establish a Palestinian state and recognising it in the United Nations”, said an Arab diplomat who is familiar with the talks.
“What is currently hindering these intensive efforts is the continuation of the war and Netanyahu’s intransigent rejection,” said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Arab leaders “have been trying to work with the Biden administration to mutually support the so-called day after” plan, said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Britain’s Chatham House think tank.
Central to their plan is the reform of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to clear the way for a reunified administration in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The PA has had almost no influence over Gaza since Hamas militants wrestled control of the territory from the Fatah movement of President Mahmud Abbas in 2007.
Six months of Israel-Hamas war: revisiting 10 key moments in pictures
At dawn on October 7, at the end of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, hundreds of Hamas fighters infiltrate Israel from Gaza by land, sea and air. They kill civilians in the streets, in their homes and at a desert music festival, and attack troops in army bases. They bring around 250 hostages back to Gaza, some of them now dead. Israel vows to destroy Hamas and begins bombing Gaza.
On October 13, Israel calls on civilians in northern Gaza to move south within 24 hours, declaring the north, which includes Gaza City, a war zone. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee to the south of the Gaza Strip as entire districts in the north are razed to the ground.
On October 27, Israeli tanks roll into Gaza at the start of a ground offensive. The troops fight their way towards Gaza City.
On November 15, Israeli troops launch a night-time raid on Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza’s biggest medical facility where bodies had been piling up after food, fuel and anaesthetics ran out. The raid causes an international outcry. Israel claims Hamas is running a command centre below the hospital, which the armed group denies.
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview Al Shifa hospital and surroundings in Gaza City on April 1, 2024. In March, Israel again targets the hospital in an intensive two-week operation that leaves hundreds dead and the complex in ruins.
On November 24, a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas negotiated in talks mediated by Qatar goes into effect. Hamas releases 80 Israeli hostages over seven days in return for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Twenty-five other hostages, mainly Thai farm workers, are released outside of the deal.
In this photo provided by the Israeli Army, Emily Hand, a released hostage, reunites with her father on November 26, 2023, in Israel.
As part of week-long truce, Israel allows more aid into Gaza during the pause but the humanitarian situation remains dire. When the war resumes, Israel expands its actions into southern Gaza. Seen here are Palestinian children running as they flee from Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 6, 2023.
On January 12, the US and Britain launch air strikes on targets in rebel-held Yemen after weeks of attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Iran-backed Houthis acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The strikes add to fears of a regional war.
In an interim ruling on January 26 in a case brought by South Africa, the International Court of Justice finds it “plausible” that Israel’s acts could amount to “genocide”. The world’s top court orders Israel to do “everything” to prevent any acts of genocide in Gaza but stops short of ordering a halt to the war.
On February 29, Israeli forces open fire on desperate residents of northern Gaza who rush towards a convoy of food aid trucks, saying they believed they “posed a threat”. Gaza’s health ministry says 115 people were shot dead and hundreds wounded in what it calls a “massacre”.
At dawn on October 7, at the end of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, hundreds of Hamas fighters infiltrate Israel from Gaza by land, sea and air. They kill civilians in the streets, in their homes and at a desert music festival, and attack troops in army bases. They bring around 250 hostages back to Gaza, some of them now dead. Israel vows to destroy Hamas and begins bombing Gaza.
Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Gaza City, Gaza Strip on March 25, 2024.
The US, Jordan and other countries begin airdropping food into Gaza. On March 15, the first food shipment along a new maritime corridor arrives in Gaza.
On April 2, seven aid workers from the US charity World Central Kitchen are killed in an Israeli strike when leaving a warehouse in central Gaza where they had just unloaded a portion of food aid from a ship. The dead are Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and US-Canadian.
“We believe in one Palestinian government that should be in charge of the West Bank and Gaza,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Tuesday.
The transition should “not affect the Palestinian cause” or “undermine the Palestinian Authority”, he told the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha.
In March, the Palestinian President approved a government led by newly appointed Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, who wants it to play a role in post-war Gaza. However, the biggest roadblock, according to Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a prominent Emirati analyst, is the Israeli government. He noted that Arab outreach efforts have also included the Israeli opposition.
Earlier this month, the UAE’s Foreign Minister met Israeli Opposition leader Yair Lapid in Abu Dhabi. They discussed the need for negotiations on a two-state solution, according to a statement from the UAE Foreign Ministry. “There are promises that if the Israeli opposition prevails in (early) elections it may be more amenable and more cooperative,” Mr. Abdulla said. Arab leaders have largely ruled out taking part in the governance of Gaza or sending security forces under current conditions.
On Saturday, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said the country “refuses to be drawn into any plan aimed at providing cover for the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip”.
Last month, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi said Arab states would not send troops to Gaza to avoid being associated with the “misery that this war has created”.
“As Arab countries, we have a plan. We know what we want. We want peace on the basis of the two-state solution,” he said in Riyadh. Oil-rich Gulf states Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also hesitant to cover the reconstruction costs without guarantees. “They certainly don’t want to just be a piggy bank. They’re not willing to just clean up Israel’s mess and just pour money into it,” said Bernard Haykel, an expert on Saudi Arabia at Princeton University.
The UAE’s ambassador to the United Nations, Lana Nusseibeh, said in February: “We cannot keep refunding and then seeing everything that we have built destroyed.”
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. File
| Photo Credit: AP
The European Union on Wednesday urged Israel to end its military operation in Gaza’s Rafah “immediately”, warning that failure to do so would undermine ties with the bloc.
“Should Israel continue its military operation in Rafah, it would inevitably put a heavy strain on the EU’s relationship with Israel,” said the statement issued in the EU’s name by its foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
“The European Union urges Israel to end its military operation in Rafah immediately,” the statement said, warning it was “further disrupting the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and is leading to more internal displacement, exposure to famine and human suffering.”
The bloc — the main aid donor for the Palestinian territories and Israel’s biggest trading partner — said more than a million people in and around Rafah had been ordered by Israel to flee the area to other zones the UN says cannot be considered safe.
“While the EU recognises Israel’s right to defend itself, Israel must do so in line with International Humanitarian Law and provide safety to civilians,” it said.
The law requires Israel to allow in humanitarian aid, the statement stressed.
The EU also condemned a Hamas attack on the Kerem Shalom border crossing which blocked humanitarian relief supplies.
“We call on all parties to redouble their efforts to achieve an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas,” it said.
Israel’s military operations in Gaza were launched in retaliation for Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israeli which killed more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, and saw around 250 hostages taken.
Israel’s military has conducted a relentless bombardment from the air and a ground offensive inside Gaza that has killed more than 35,000, mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Israel’s main allies, the United States and the EU, as well as the United Nations, have all warned Israel against a major operation in Rafah given that it would add to the civilian toll.
Moscow’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov hopes to meet representatives of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Qatar next week for talks to free Israeli hostages, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported on October 14.
Moscow has so far carefully denounced violence from both sides in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, while renewing an offer to be a potential mediator.
Follow live updates from the Israel-Hamas war on October 14
Mr. Bogdanov told RIA Novosti he “did not exclude” meeting Hamas representatives on the trip, adding: “If they are willing, we always are in favour of contact. Especially in this situation (the meeting) would be useful for solving practical issues, including the freeing of hostages.”
On October 7, hundreds of Hamas gunmen broke through the militarised border around the Gaza Strip into Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking around 150 Israeli, foreign and dual-national hostages.
Moscow manages to retain close relations with both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
Also Read | Saudi pauses talks on normalisation with Israel: Report
The announcement of Mr. Bogdanov’s efforts came a day after President Vladimir Putin said Russia could help find a way to end the crisis.
“Russia can (help), by virtue of the fact that we have had good relations with Israel over the last 15 years,” Mr. Putin said on a visit to Kyrgyzstan on October 13.
Also Read: At U.N., Palestinians call for halt to Israeli offensive, world powers mull options
He also said Israel risked waging an “unacceptable” siege in Gaza.
The Russian leader has said that the creation of a Palestinian state is the only viable way to solve the conflict.
Moscow — whose troops have fought in Ukraine for almost 20 months — has blamed the West for the conflict in Israel.