Israeli Army Admits to Killing Hostages in Gaza

After 290 days of conflict, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have officially acknowledged that their own soldiers were responsible for the deaths of dozens of hostages held in Gaza. This admission marks a significant and somber development in the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Gaza-based factions.

According to ArabNews, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan) reported the IDF's confirmation that two Israeli hostages, Alex Datsnig and Yugav Bukhstav, were killed in Gaza last December. This revelation has been part of a broader admission by the IDF, acknowledging the deaths of 46 out of 120 remaining hostages during military operations in Gaza.

For months, information regarding the fate of these hostages was tightly controlled and censored. The news of their deaths has been filtered to prevent it from being widely disseminated.

In response to these developments, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, issued a statement to the families of the hostages. The statement claimed, "Your army is lying to you and continues to lie to you; the only thing it wants is to return the captives in coffins."

Background and Timeline

The crisis began on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian fighters from Gaza launched a surprise incursion into Israeli neighborhoods adjacent to the Gaza Strip, capturing approximately 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers. This incident, referred to as the "Al-Aqsa Storm" operation, escalated the already tense situation into a full-blown conflict.

Over the ensuing months, some hostages were released through humanitarian actions facilitated by the Palestinian Authority. Others were freed during exchanges between Israeli forces and Hamas. Despite extensive military operations in Gaza, which have included aerial and artillery bombardments, a significant number of hostages remain unaccounted for, with many believed to have perished in the ongoing violence.