An Israeli soldier in the Bari settlement (French)

The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" said that the occupation army is investigating the killing of 12 Israelis after a tank bombed a house in the "Be'eri" settlement adjacent to the Gaza Strip on October 7.

The newspaper explained that Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy appointed retired Major General Yoav Har Even to head the investigation team, and he will work in coordination with the Military Prosecutor.

She added that the Public Prosecutor's Office will examine the findings of the investigation team and determine whether there is any suspicion of committing a criminal offense that justifies opening an investigation with the military police.

Haaretz noted that “Yasmin Porat and Hadas Dagan, the only survivors of the incident, say that the house was bombed by a tank,” and added, “This raised suspicions that General Barak Hiram, commander of the 99th Division in the army, who led the fighting in the settlement, ordered a tank team to fire "He opened fire on Cohen's house, despite his knowledge that hostages were being held there."

According to the newspaper, the Israeli army waited until now to investigate the incident because Hiram was involved in the war on the Gaza Strip, and there were fears that the investigation would undermine his work and the work of the forces under his command. It said that the decline in the intensity of fighting in Gaza led army officers to believe that time had passed. It's time to open an investigation.

The newspaper reported the concerns of a number of army commanders that the quality of evidence would be damaged while waiting for a longer period, and expected that in the coming days the investigation team would summon Hiram to present his version of the events, and how he and other commanders on the ground made the decisions that day.

Unresolved questions

Haaretz said in a previous report that any investigation into the incident must answer questions, including: Did Hiram act in accordance with the rules and spirit of the Israeli army? Or was it contrary to it? Is the spirit of the Hannibal Protocol prevalent in the Israeli army during its war against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)?

Hannibal is a controversial military protocol, the use of which has been attributed to the Israeli army since its official adoption in 2006 by allowing field units to hit captives with heavy weapons, even if this led to the death of the Israeli prisoners, to prevent them from leaving the site of the event accompanied by prisoners.

On October 7, the Palestinian resistance - led by Hamas - launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in response to the continuing attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against the Palestinian people, their property and their sanctities.

The resistance factions captured at least about 239 people in towns and cities surrounding Gaza, and exchanged dozens of them with Israel during a temporary humanitarian truce that lasted 7 days and ended in early December. Tel Aviv estimates that there are about 136 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, while it holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army has continued a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which to date has left more than 27,000 martyrs, about 67,000 wounded, massive infrastructure destruction, and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the Strip authorities and the United Nations.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies