Israeli military says 3 hostages were ‘most likely’ killed in IDF strike

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September 16, 2024

Editor's note: Meanwhile in the Middle East will publish weekly, on Wednesdays, starting September 18.

Israeli military says 3 hostages were 'most likely' killed in IDF strike

Dana Karni and Lauren Izso

A file image of the site of an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the southern village of Rachaya al-Fukhar on September 11. (Rabih Daher/AFP/Getty Images)

The Israeli military says that three Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza in December were "most likely" killed as a result of an Israeli airstrike in November.

The hostages were two soldiers - Corporal Nick Beiser and Sergeant Ron Sherman – and and civilian man, Eliya Toledano.

Recovering the hostages captured by Hamas on October 7 is one of the main goals of Israel's campaign in Gaza and the government is under intense domestic pressure to secure their release.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the families of all three were informed Sunday after the conclusion of the investigation, which involved intelligence and operational research efforts and considerations of the security of the hostages.

"It is estimated that the three were most likely killed as a by-product of an IDF airstrike, during the assassination of the commander of the northern division of Hamas, Ahmed Andor, on November 10, 2023."

"This is an estimate with a high probability in view of all the data, but it is not possible to determine with certainty the circumstances of their death," the IDF said. "This determination is based on the location where their bodies were found in relation to the impact of the attack," as well as intelligence findings and pathological reports.

"The investigation shows that the three hostages were held in the tunnel complex where Andor operated. At the time of the attack, the IDF did not have information about the presence of hostages in the compound that was attacked, and moreover, there was information that indicated their location elsewhere."

The IDF said that throughout the war, it has not attacked in areas where there are indications or suspicions about the presence of hostages.

The bodies of the three hostages were retrieved from the tunnel where Andor had been staying on December 14. Later that month Hamas claimed that the three hostages were "killed by IDF weapons."

A total of 101 hostages are still being held in Gaza, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office (PMO). 35 of those are believed to be dead.

Hostage release efforts are ongoing and gained new urgency earlier this month with the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah, including the Israeli-American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

US officials are trying to get both sides to agree to a deal first laid out by US President Joe Biden in May. The three-phase proposal pairs the release of hostages with a "full and complete ceasefire."

Since then talks have stuttered and both sides have pointed to what they see as glaring holes in the framework, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting that Israel's forces will never leave the stretch along the Egypt-Gaza border known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

More on the Israel-Hamas war

• UAE on Gaza plan: The United Arab Emirates is not prepared to support a post-war plan in Gaza without the establishment of a Palestinian state, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on X on Saturday. In May, Israeli media published a vision reportedly put forward by Netanyahu for Gaza's rebuilding that would be supervised by Arab nations like the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The UAE responded by rejecting the notion that it would participate in the administration of post-war Gaza while it is under Israeli occupation. Sheikh Abdullah said the Israeli prime minister doesn't have the authority to make such a request in Gaza. 
  
  
• Warning for Houthis: A missile was launched from Yemen into central Israel on Sunday morning, according to the Israeli military, in a rare instance of a missile penetrating so far into Israel's territory since its war in Gaza began.  Netanyahu has warned that Yemen's Houthis face a "heavy price" for it. 
  
  
• New war aim: Netanyahu wants to declare the creation of conditions for the return of evacuees from northern Israel to their homes as an official war aim, an Israeli official told CNN on Saturday. According to Israeli government data shared with CNN last month, more than 62,000 people from the north of the country are internally displaced. 

What to watch

CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent, Matthew Chance, got rare access to the Philadelphi Corridor, the strip of land linking Gaza and Egypt, which Netanyahu has insisted must go to Israel in the event of any ceasefire deal. CNN reported from Gaza under Israel Defense Forces escort at all times. CNN retained full editorial control over the report. 

The digest

British ministers head to Gulf for talks on new trade deal 

Britain's new trade ministers visited the Gulf region on Monday in a first joint visit for talks on a possible trade deal, Reuters cited the United Kingdom government as saying. Trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds and minister for trade policy Douglas Alexander will meet their counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

• Background: Trade has been a weak point in Britain's economy in recent years - with business groups pointing to Brexit as one cause. Out of the Group of Seven advanced economies, Britain has ranked bottom for growth in goods and services exports since 2019, even when accounting for the country's large precious metals trade, according to national accounts data. 
• Why it matters: A British parliamentary report said last year that a free-trade agreement has the potential to increase the UK's economic output by up to £3.1 billion ($4.1 billion), and boost trade by up to £15.8 billion ($21 billion) in 2035. 

Jordan's King Abdullah appoints technocrat as PM 

Jordan's King Abdullah has designated key palace aide Jafar Hassan as prime minister after the government resigned on Sunday, Reuters cited the royal court as saying, days after a parliamentary election in which the Islamist opposition made some gains in the US-allied kingdom. 

• Background: The Muslim Brotherhood opposition -- ideological allies of Palestinian militant group Hamas -- made significant gains in Tuesday's election, boosted by anger over Israel's war in Gaza. The Islamists won 31 seats, the most since parliamentary life was revived in 1989 after decades of martial law, leaving them the largest political grouping in parliament. 
• Why it matters: Harvard-educated Hassan, a widely respected technocrat, will face the challenges of mitigating the impact of the Gaza war on the kingdom's economy, hard-hit by curbs to investment and a sharp drop in tourism. Politicians say a key task ahead is accelerating IMF-guided reforms and reining in more than $50 billion in public debt in a country with high unemployment and whose stability is supported by billions of dollars of Western aid. 

Iran launches second satellite this year into orbit 

Iran on Saturday launched a research satellite into orbit with a rocket built by the Revolutionary Guards, Reuters cited state media as saying. The Chamran-1 satellite, which was launched into space by the Qaem-100 satellite carrier, was put into a 550-kilometer (340-mile) orbit and its first signals had been received, the media said, adding that the solid-fuel carrier was designed and built by the Aerospace Force of the Revolutionary Guards. 

• Background: In January, Iranian media reported that the Sorayya satellite had been launched into a 750-kilometer (470-mile) orbit, the highest by the country so far. Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, has suffered several failed satellite launches in recent years due to technical issues. 
• Why it matters: The US military alleges the long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also allow Tehran to launch long-range weapons, possibly including nuclear warheads. Tehran denies its satellite activities are a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.