Israeli Military Says Its Tank Fire Not to Blame For Civilian Deaths in Israeli Home on Oct. 7

Last updated on August 7th, 2024 at 04:27 pm

The Israeli military has concluded its forces did not kill Israeli citizens in a home in Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7, despite firing on the building with a tank.

Reports emerged in the weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel, that Israeli commanders on the ground had ordered a tank crew to fire on a home where Israeli civilians were being held by Hamas fighters. In all, 13 Israeli civilians were reportedly killed inside the house, along with the Hamas fighters.

The families of the deceased Israeli civilians had called for an investigation into the incident, amid concerns that Israeli friendly fire had claimed the lives of their loved ones.

On Thursday, the Israeli military acknowledged failures in their actions around Kibbutz Be’eri. Still, the Israeli military absolved itself of direct responsibility for the 13 civilians killed in the home.

“The inquiry revealed that under the complex and difficult circumstances, the commanders and forces made professional and responsible decisions, and fully exhausted negotiation efforts,” the Israeli military said in a Thursday press statement. “The tank fire towards the area near the house was carried out professionally, with a joint decision made by commanders from all the security organizations after careful consideration and a situational assessment was made, with the intent to apply pressure to the terrorists and save the civilians held hostage inside.”

The Israeli military said it decided to press the attack on the home because Israeli troops heard gunfire inside the building. They further claimed the Hamas fighters in the building communicated an intent to kill themselves and the hostages after they became surrounded.

The Israeli military said the local commander did make “difficult decisions” during the fighting in the residential community, including to use a tank to “apply pressure” to the Hamas fighters holed up in the building. Still, they said the tank fire did not directly harm those inside the building.

“Based on the information reviewed and to the best of their understanding, no civilians inside the building were harmed by tank shell fire, except for an isolated incident outside the building where two civilians were injured by shrapnel,” the Israeli military said.

The Israeli military, instead said “most of the hostages were likely murdered” by the Hamas fighters.

Meir Zarbiv, a resident who lost his brother and sister in the fighting around Kibbutz Be’eri, told the Associated Press he has doubts about the truthfulness of the Israeli military’s report. He called it a “deception,” adding “I don’t believe the report and I don’t believe anything about it.”

Photos taken by the Associated Press of the home in question showed extensive damage, with debris strewn across the ground, pockmarked walls in places showing twisting sections of rubble and rebar, and missing sections of the roof.

While the Associated Press reported some in Kibbutz Be’eri shared misgivings about the Israeli military investigation, the community association told the publication it felt the investigation had been thorough. The community said the investigation helped them understand the complexity of the fighting that day.