Israeli military says it accidentally killed three captives in 2023: Reports

After months of denial, the Israeli army has confirmed that Gaza captives Ron Sherman, Nick Beiser, and Elia Toledano were killed in an Israeli strike in December 2023, according to Israeli media reports.

At the time, it was reported that the pathological examination could not definitively determine the cause of death for two of the captives.

The military told the families of the captives there was no intelligence suggesting their presence in the underground area targeted during the operation, which resulted in the death of commander Ahmed Ghandour.

Israeli soldiers discovered the captives’ bodies during subsequent searches of the tunnels, and had no prior knowledge of their location, the army told the families.

The forensic report showed no signs of trauma or gunshot wounds, suggesting the captives were not killed by direct impact from the strike. Due to the condition of the remains, the exact cause of death could not be determined.

Probe finds ‘high probability’ 3 captives killed as a result of Israeli air raid: Army

“The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF airstrike, during the elimination of the Hamas Northern Brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November 10th, 2023,” it said.

The statement added that the 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”.

“The investigation indicates that the three hostages were held in the 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.” it added, referring to the Israeli army.

Furthermore, there was information suggesting that they were located elsewhere, and thus the area was not designated as one with suspected presence of hostages,” the statement continued, noting that the bodies of the three men were recovered on December 14 “following precise intelligence received” regarding their location.

Israel recruiting asylum seekers from Africa for Gaza war

Israel is recruiting asylum seekers from Africa to take part in military operations in Gaza in exchange for residency rights, Israeli media outlet Haaretz reports.

The report is based on testimonies of asylum seekers who were offered permanent residency status in exchange for joining the war effort in Gaza.

Haaretz quoted unnamed military officials saying the programme was being carried out in an “organised manner” under the supervision of “defence establishment” legal advisers.

So far, none of the asylum seekers involved in the war effort has been granted official status, the report said, adding that about 30,000 asylum seekers reside in Israel.

Opposition leader says Netanyahu dragging Israel into ‘endless war’

Labor Party leader Yair Golan has called Netanyahu’s ruling coalition a “zero government” that is dragging the country to an “endless war”.

Earlier today, a ballistic missile from Yemen fired by the Houthis landed near Ben Gurion international airport in Tel Aviv.

In a statement on X, Golan called on the Israelis to stage daily protests against the government.

“Only continuous popular pressure will bring down this government,” he added.

Golan said Sunday’s missile attack was a “reminder of the right-wing government’s ongoing failure”.

“Instead of closing battlefronts, this zero government is pulling us into endless war, eternal internal conflict and an abyss.”

Netanyahu promises strong response to Houthi attack

As we’ve been reporting, the Houthi group said it carried out a “military operation targeting a military target” in Jaffa, using “a new hypersonic ballistic missile that succeeded in reaching its target”.

At a weekly cabinet meeting earlier today, PM Netanyahu said “we are exacting a heavy price for any attempt to harm us”.

He added that the current situation in northern Israel, along the border with Lebanon, “will not continue” and that he was determined to do everything possible to return northern evacuees to their homes.


Israel ‘will not enjoy security’ unless it ends its war in Gaza

As new semester dawns, campus protesters in US face heightened restrictions

Fall semester was meant to be the final hurdle. Only four months of classes remained before Jonas could graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

But as Jonas — who asked to have his last name withheld — started his second week of class, he found himself confronting a new obstacle: an impending disciplinary hearing.

Jonas was one of thousands of university students across the United States who participated in on-campus activism to protest Israel’s war in Gaza during the last academic year.

Now, as those student protesters return for a new year of learning, they are facing a landscape transformed by updated restrictions, heightened security measures and increased scrutiny of pro-Palestine movements.


_{New York Police use a drone to surveil students protesting outside the main entrance to Columbia University, in New York City, on August 25}

Demonstrators in London call for end to war in Gaza

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of London again to call for an end to the war in Gaza.

People were seen waving Palestinian flags and holding banners that read “Ceasefire Now” and “Free Palestine”.

Multiple pro-Palestine demonstrations have taken place in the British capital since the war on Gaza began about a year ago.

Admission on captives killed by Israeli air raid ‘an embarrassment'

It’s quite a significant admission from the Israeli army, which says it had no information or intelligence that there were captives who were being held in this area, after it conducted an air strike on November 10 saying it was targeting a Hamas official.

There have been a series of significant intelligence and security failures by the Israeli military throughout this war, the most notable of them back in December when the Israeli army shot and killed three captives in the Gaza Strip.

The news is not being received quite well because there are families of captives calling for a deal, fearing this exact type of thing.

It is certainly an embarrassment on all scales, not just politically but security-wise as well, that the army made this admission so many months later.

Israel’s army has previously killed its own citizens

The Israeli military’s announcement that there is a “high probability” three captives held in Gaza were killed by an Israeli air raid is not the first time Israel has admitted to killing its own citizens.

Previously, on December 15, the Israeli military said that its troops killed another three captives when it mistook their cries for help as a ruse by Palestinian fighters to draw them into an ambush.

The military concluded that the soldiers acted rightly to the best of their understanding.

The three men – Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samar Talalka – were in the Shujayea area of Gaza City and had removed their shirts as one of them was waving a white flag when they were killed.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz found in July that the army had deployed its so-called Hannibal Directive, which allows it to use all necessary force to prevent the capture of soldiers, on October 7 following the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel.

This resulted in the loss of both civilian and military lives, Haaretz said.

It also found that Israeli commanders ordered the protocol’s deployment without any caveat or further clarification during a chaotic response to the events of October 7, when Hamas fighters attacked army outposts and surrounding villages in southern Israel.

‘It’s either you are with the captives or with the government’

The discovery today that the Israeli military may have killed three Israeli captives in Gaza last year will not change Netanyahu’s priorities, according to Akiva Eldar, an Israeli political analyst and author.

“For him, this is a kind of, I’m sorry to say, collateral damage, as well as the 40,000 Palestinians that were killed, as well as the price that Israel is paying in the international arena,” Eldar told Al Jazeera from Le Havre, France.

“He knows that as long as the Israeli soldiers are in the combat field in Gaza, there will be Israeli fatalities. As long as the Israeli Air Force is bombing Gaza, the bombs cannot tell who is a captive and who is Hamas,” he added.

The captives, in fact, are a nuisance for Netanyahu, according to the analyst.

“What [Netanyahu] does best is divide and rule. This is what he’s been doing for the last 15 years, and he keeps doing this,” said Eldar, adding that the Israeli leader’s allies are the ones making arrests of protesters.

“It’s either you are with the captives or with the government.”

Captives’ killings, ongoing mass protests will still not impact outcome of Gaza war: Analyst

The revelation that Israel likely killed another three captives held in Gaza will hardly make a difference in ending the war in Gaza, according to an analyst.

While the killings are further evidence that military pressure has failed to bring back Israeli captives home alive, it is a strategy that Netanyahu is resolute about, said Gideon Levy, a columnist at the Israeli daily Haaretz.

Additionally, anger against the Israeli leader is still largely only coming from the opposition in Israel, Levy said.

“That’s the camp that you see on TV protesting every week, with devotion every day … that’s the camp that does anything possible to make [Netanyahu] resign,” Levy told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.

“But it’s just part of the picture, because those who support Netanyahu, their support is totally solid, and nothing will change it. Whatever Netanyahu will do, they will support it.”

Additionally, the protesters “want the end of the war in order to release the hostages, and then part of them will be happy to renew the war, which will bring us to the same place again”, the columnist said.

Netanyahu, therefore, is able to continue waging the war with the support of public opinion, and with the protests having very little impact, Levy said.

Houthis hit central Israel with hypersonic missile fired from Yemen

Our team has put together this video showing the aftermath of Sunday’s Houthi missile attack on Israel – and previous strikes, as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu warns of a “heavy price” for anyone attacking his country.

Houthis ‘well-prepared for a long war’ with Israel

Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a pro-Houthi Yemeni journalist and political analyst, has said that the Houthis have not yet used their latest, most advanced missiles against Israel.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Sanaa, al-Bukhaiti said: “They have three to four upgraded [missiles] ready and I think [the Houthis] could also launch more missiles against [Tel Aviv] and I believe it can also target the gas platform on the coastline.”

He mentioned that Israel had targeted Hodeidah port, saying: “The Yemeni army declared today that the attack on Israel is to show the support to the Palestinian people and is not the retaliation of the attack on the port,” which took place in July.

“I believe Israel could retaliate in the coming hours,” al-Bukhaiti added.

Israeli Air Force investigates Houthi missile incident

According to Israeli Army Radio, an investigation by the Air Force has determined that attempts to intercept the missile launched by the Houthi towards Israel failed because “the missile was not completely destroyed in the air as required”.

“As a result of the partial interception, the missile disintegrated over Israeli airspace, and its fragments fell in open areas in various locations in central Israel,” the radio said.

Contrary to Houthi claims, the Air Force said that the missile was not hypersonic and that Israel’s “enemies” do not posses these kinds of missiles.

It also said that “the missile did not surprise the air defence systems, and does not pose a new threat that cannot be dealt with”.

Israelis have questioned the apparent success the Houthis had on Sunday in reaching Israel with a missile, as the threat of the outbreak of a regional war – which would likely see Israel targeted by many more missile and drone attacks – continues.

Nothing to see here, don't panic, everything is under control...


CENTCOM claims to destroy missile system in Yemen

US Central Command (US CENTCOM) said that its forces destroyed a missile system in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

“It was determined this system presented a clear and imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

Israeli raids target Mahmoudiya, in southern Lebanon

Video footage by local news outlets shows scenes of flames rising due to a series of air raids conducted by Israeli forces in the Mahmoudiya area in southern Lebanon.

The area was targeted with air-to-ground missiles, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Israeli Air Force claims attack on Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon

The Israeli Air Force says it has attacked 20 launch pads that it claims belonged to Hezbollah in the Jarmaq area of southern Lebanon.

“Following the alerts that were activated in the Upper Galilee region, two suspicious aerial targets were detected that crossed from Lebanon and fell in the northern Golan Heights area,” the Air Force also said.


Israeli soldiers injured in Golan Heights attack

The Israeli military says that several soldiers were lightly injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on Sunday evening. The attack, carried out using two drones, took place in the northern Golan Heights, which is occupied Syrian territory.

Israeli air raid on Gaza City house kills at least three

The Palestinian Civil Defence has said that three people were killed, including a woman, when an Israeli air raid targeted a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, north of Gaza City.

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence, said that efforts are under way to find two missing children amidst the rubble of the house, which belongs to the Bahloul family.

Death toll rises in Israeli attack on house in Gaza City

The Palestinian Civil Defence has said that four people have now been confirmed dead, including a woman, in an Israeli air raid that targeted a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, north of Gaza City.

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence, said there are ongoing efforts to find two missing children amidst the rubble of the house, which belongs to the Bahloul family.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claim attack in Balata

The Palestinian armed group’s branch in Nablus says it has attacked an Israeli armoured vehicle with an explosive device. The group says the attack led to Israeli injuries.

There is currently no confirmation from the Israeli side.

Israel issues 33 administrative detention orders in one day

Israel has issued 33 orders placing Palestinians under administrative detention in a single day – without trial or charge, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.

“Since October 7, the number of administrative detention orders reached more than 8,872,” the two organisations said in a statement.

The orders affected 3,323 Palestinians, including women and children, the commission said.

These people have either been arrested under new administrative orders or remained in prison for renewable periods of time, meaning the arrest duration is indefinite and could last for many years.

Israeli forces conduct raids in several areas West Bank: Report

Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting recent raids in several areas of the occupied West Bank.

One Israeli injured in stabbing attack

A 20-year-old Israeli border police officer was injured in a stabbing attack at the Damascus Gate in occupied East Jerusalem, the Magen David Adom ambulance service has said.

The incident took place near the Old City’s Damascus Gate. Medics said that the man sustained mild injuries to the upper body and was evacuated to hospital. Police said they “neutralised” the assailant. He was shot dead by an Israeli border police officer.

Palestinian media reported that the assailant was a Palestinian citizen of Israel. Police have not identified him.

Fighting in Balata refugee camp after Israeli raid

The sound of clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters can be heard in footage from Balata verified by Al Jazeera. The refugee camp, which is in Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, has repeatedly been targeted by Israeli forces.

Columnists resign from Jewish Chronicle as Gaza fabrications controversy deepens

The resignations of four prominent columnists from the British newspaper, which is one of the leading voices for the country’s Jewish community, is a sign that the controversy engulfing it is not going away.

The newspaper was forced to delete nine articles written by a contributor after questions over their authenticity emerged.

The articles were supposedly written by a former Israeli soldier, who claimed to have exclusive details about Israeli intelligence on plans by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to flee to Iran, among other reportedly fabricated claims.

It has been claimed that the reports were part of a pro-Netanyahu disinformation campaign.

“The latest scandal brings great disgrace on the paper – publishing fabricated stories and showing only the thinnest form of contrition – but it is only the latest,” said columnist Jonathan Freedland. “Too often, the JC [Jewish Chronicle] reads like a partisan, ideological instrument, its judgements political rather than journalistic.”

The Jewish Chronicle has faced criticism, including from within the United Kingdom’s Jewish community, for its full-throated support for Israel’s war on Gaza, and the perception that it is closely aligned with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

‘Why I am rooting for Bisan Owda to win a news Emmy’: Opinion piece

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/9/15/why-i-am-rooting-for-bisan-owda-to-win-a-news-emmy

“Since the beginning of this latest and most violent chapter in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people, honest, direct and courageous Palestinian voices like Owda’s broke through the mould of a once tightly controlled media landscape that habitually panders to colonial narratives.

“Her work, marked by a raw intensity and immense emotional debt, reached people around the world and exposed many of them to the painful reality of being a Palestinian in Gaza for the first time. Indeed, many Africans like me, who for too long depended on the biased output of Western news outlets to understand the so-called ‘Middle East conflict’, found Owda’s authentic account of the Palestinian reality both informing and refreshing.

“In a media landscape where Israeli military spokespeople get both the first and the last word in news reports on the genocide they are committing, where Palestinians who lost dozens of family members to Israeli bombing are made to condemn any efforts at resistance to be allowed to speak about their loss, where Palestinians inexplicably ‘die’ but Israelis are ‘killed’ and ‘slaughtered’, voices like Owda’s should be appreciated, honoured and protected at all cost.

“Since Israel’s very inception, Western media have been complicit in its crimes against Palestinians – especially leading British and American media organisations, which for decades held a monopoly on deciding what is accepted as ‘truth’ about Israel-Palestine and helped Israel legitimise its violence and land theft by pushing narratives that dehumanise Palestinians.

“But now that Owda, and other courageous Palestinian journalists like her, are able to reach large audiences, these organisations have lost the power to act as the sole arbiter of truth on Israel-Palestine. Israel can no longer silence Palestinian voices and make the world accept Israeli narratives as the indisputable truth of the conflict.”

'Nice Jewish Boys' podcast lifts mask on Israel



The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate cover the gruesome calls by Israeli podcasters to "push the button" on the Palestinians living under occupation.

Zionism, Gaza & Apartheid According to a Palestinian Christian | Ash Sarkar meets Dr. Munther Isaac

Dr. Munther Isaac, serving a community of Christians that dates back to the time of Christ, is the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem and the Dean of Bethlehem Bible College. He joined Ash to discuss Israel's continuing annexation of areas of the West Bank, the role of Christian Zionists and the origins of western hypocrisy.