Gaza War Led to Deaths of More Than 3 Dozen Hostages, Officials Say

Itay Svirsky, 40, was a therapist who liked philosophy. Eden Yerushalmi, 24, was coaching to turn into a Pilates teacher. Alex Lobanov, 32, a father of three, by no means met his youngest youngster.

They’re among the many 41 hostages killed since being taken captive by Hamas and its allies throughout their Oct. 7 assault on Israel, in accordance to an evaluation by The New York Instances of forensic reviews and army investigations into their deaths, in addition to interviews with greater than a dozen Israeli troopers and officers, a senior regional official and 7 kinfolk of hostages.

Some have been killed by Hamas, some by Israeli fireplace, some their trigger of loss of life unknown. The losses — and most acutely, the dimensions of them — at the moment are on the coronary heart of an anguished debate inside Israeli society about whether or not extra folks might have been introduced again alive if a truce had been reached sooner.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has lengthy contended that solely army power might compel Hamas to free the hostages. Mr. Netanyahu’s opponents argued that the longer the struggle, the likelier that the hostages can be executed by Hamas or killed in Israeli strikes.

The talk has gained extra resonance in latest days because the nation faces the prospect of returning to struggle for the reason that lapse of the latest truce. The Israeli authorities lately upended the method by proposing a brand new framework, instantly rejected by Hamas, that known as for a seven-week extension throughout which the group would launch half the dwelling hostages and return the stays of half the deceased ones.

Of the 59 hostages nonetheless believed held in Gaza, the Israel authorities has mentioned that solely 24 are alive. The worry and uncertainty over their fates has been seared on the nationwide psyche.

In late February, 1000’s of Israelis lined the streets alongside the funeral route of Shiri Bibas and her two younger sons, Ariel and Kfir, who have been kidnapped through the Hamas-led assault on Israel and killed in Gaza. Many held indicators that learn “sorry,” an apology for not doing sufficient to save them.

Of the 251 folks kidnapped through the Hamas-led raid that ignited the struggle in October 2023, greater than 130 have been exchanged alive for Palestinian detainees. The Israeli army has retrieved the corpses of greater than 40 others, many of whom have been taken lifeless into Gaza through the assault. Hamas has handed over eight our bodies as half of the newest cease-fire settlement.

A couple of hostages have been virtually actually killed within the first days of the struggle, earlier than it was doable to seal a truce, in accordance to two Israeli officers. However many others have died for the reason that transient first cease-fire collapsed in November 2023 and the combating continued in a struggle that has killed tens of 1000’s of Palestinians.

The troopers and officers all spoke on situation of anonymity to focus on the delicate findings.

Though Israel and Hamas neared one other cease-fire deal in July, the talks collapsed, and it took one other 5 months to strike an settlement, one largely comparable to the one mentioned in the summertime. Mr. Netanyahu’s political rivals and a few of the hostages’ kinfolk have mentioned that the months of additional combating, whereas degrading Hamas and its allies in Lebanon and Iran, led to the deaths of extra hostages and in the end failed to defeat Hamas.

“We might have introduced house extra hostages — earlier and for a smaller value,” Yoav Gallant, Israel’s protection minister till November, mentioned in a televised interview final month.

Whereas Mr. Netanyahu’s workplace declined to remark, he has lengthy blamed Hamas for the failure to attain a truce. “Solely continued army strain, till complete victory, will deliver concerning the launch of all of our hostages,” the prime minister mentioned final yr.

The Israeli army declined to touch upon the precise circumstances during which the hostages have been killed however mentioned in a press release that it has carried out operations with quite a few precautions taken to shield the captives.

The assertion added that it “expresses deep sorrow for each incident during which hostages have been killed throughout their captivity and is doing every little thing in its energy to forestall such occurrences.” The army additionally mentioned that it commonly updates the households of hostages on the standing of their family members.

Seven hostages have been executed by their captors as Israeli troopers drew close to, and 4 others died in Israeli airstrikes, in accordance to Israeli officers and the general public findings of army investigations.

Three hostages have been killed by Israeli troopers who mistook them for Palestinian militants, the Israeli army mentioned publicly; one was shot lifeless in crossfire. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of 26 others stay inconclusive.

In some instances, there are conflicting claims, akin to within the case of the Bibas household. Hamas mentioned that the three have been killed in an Israeli strike, however the Israeli army mentioned they have been murdered.

Neither facet has provided proof for his or her conclusions. After inspecting the our bodies, Dr. Chen Kugel, the director of Israel’s nationwide forensic institute, mentioned in a press release that there is no such thing as a proof they have been killed in a bombing.
Some kinfolk of the hostages blame Hamas alone for these deaths. Nira Sharabi’s kidnapped husband was killed in an Israeli airstrike, in accordance to a army inquiry. She mentioned in an interview that Hamas was in the end accountable “as a result of they took him and put him there.”

Others imagine that the federal government cared extra about combating Hamas than saving their family members.

“The federal government deceived the general public by downplaying the dangers the struggle posed to hostages,” mentioned Merav Svirsky.

Her brother survived an Israeli airstrike solely to be executed by his Hamas captor days later, in accordance to three Israeli officers and Ms. Svirsky, who was briefed by army.

“The captor murdered my brother. However the cause he shot him was the army’s marketing campaign,” Ms. Svirsky added.

Killed in Airstrikes

When Israel hit a subterranean Hamas command heart in November 2023, the strike killed two Hamas commanders, together with Ahmed al-Ghandour, a Hamas common who Israel mentioned helped arrange the October assault.

A month later, Israeli infantry scouring the positioning of the strike found the our bodies of three unintended victims: an Israeli kidnapped from a music pageant on Oct. 7 and two troopers captured at a close-by army base.

The army has tried to forestall hurt to hostages. All through the struggle, intelligence officers gathered details about every captive and maintained information of their final recognized location, in accordance to greater than 12 officers.

However the army couldn’t pinpoint the whereabouts of many hostages, particularly within the first weeks of the struggle when info was scarce and aerial bombardments have been at their most intense, in accordance to three army officers. If there was no clear indication of a hostage’s location, the air power was in a position to strike, as within the assault on al-Ghandour.

After ultimately concluding in March 2024 that the airstrike had killed hostages, the army didn’t inform their kinfolk for months, in accordance to two protection officers. The army declined to touch upon the incident.

In January 2024, the army allowed kinfolk to see a forensic report, later reviewed by the Instances, that instructed the boys could have been suffocated by noxious gases.

Maayan Sherman, the mom of one of the victims, quickly started a public marketing campaign to press the army to admit that the gases have been emitted throughout an explosion brought on by an Israeli missile.

It was not till September that the army acknowledged the boys have been killed in a single of its personal airstrikes. It has not disclosed the precise trigger of loss of life.

Executed by Hamas

In late August, Israeli commandos superior by means of a city in southern Gaza, hoping to discover Hamas’s high chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, in accordance to 5 Israeli protection officers.

As they have been looking for Mr. Sinwar, the Israeli army assessed there have been folks doubtlessly being held in tunnels in the identical neighborhood. The commandos confirmed the presence of no less than one hostage on Aug. 27, after they found a dwelling captive, Farhan al-Qadi, an Arab Israeli, in a tunnel.

Fearing their presence may endanger different hostages, the forces initially suspended their mission, in accordance to a army investigation.

The realm was already beforehand marked as restricted for operations on army maps, which have been reviewed by the Instances. Three officers mentioned that by working within the space, the army risked their lives, since militants had been ordered to kill captives if cornered.

In the end the necessity to hunt Mr. Sinwar took larger precedence, in accordance to 4 protection officers.

After a daylong pause, the commandos pressed forward on Aug. 28 with their search.

On Aug. 31, as a substitute of Mr. Sinwar, the commandos found the our bodies of six hostages who had been shot, killed and deserted in a slender tunnel.

Hamas issued conflicting messages shortly after the incident — one official blamed Israel for killing them, whereas one other strongly instructed they have been killed by Hamas fighters.

The army inquiry later concluded that that they had been killed by their guards because the Israeli forces approached.

Mr. Sinwar was in the end killed in one other operation on Oct. 16.

Killed Throughout Rescue Makes an attempt

One night time in December 2023, a squad of Israeli commandos thought they have been on the cusp of rescuing a feminine hostage. The squad stormed a Hamas hide-out in Gaza, anticipating to discover an Israeli girl in a separate room from her captors, in accordance to three Israeli officers.

As a substitute, they discovered themselves in a gun battle with Hamas militants. The lady was nowhere in sight. With out Israeli intelligence officers realizing, Hamas appeared to have swapped her for a male hostage, Sahar Baruch, in accordance to the officers.

Quickly, Mr. Baruch was lifeless — killed in crossfire that additionally injured Israeli troopers, the officers mentioned. It’s unclear whether or not Mr. Baruch was killed by pleasant fireplace or his captors; Hamas later launched a video of his physique.

Mr. Baruch’s stays are nonetheless in Gaza.

Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting