Forces had no direct confrontation with Hamas terrorists who killed hostages; ‘The IDF and security forces are doing everything possible to bring all hostages home as quickly as possible. This news shakes us all,’ says army spokesperson Hagari

Israeli forces discovered the bodies of six hostages in a 65-foot-deep tunnel in Rafah, approximately a kilometer from where hostage Farhan Alkadi was recently freed. The IDF had no precise intelligence on the hostages’ location in recent months but knew there were captives in the sector, leading to a gradual and cautious operation in Rafah since the ground offensive began.

  • alvvayson@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    2 months ago

    Hamas is trying to keep as many alive as they can.

    But (a) 2000 pound bunker busters don’t discriminate between Palestinians and Israelis and (b) if the IDF comes too close to the hostages, their guards have to decide whether to let them go alive or to kill them.

    In the case of the Druze guy, I can definitely see Hamas choosing not to kill him. But in cases of Israelis who also served in the IDF, the rational choice is to kill them instead of giving the IDF a propaganda win.

    And finally, sometimes the IDF probably accidentally kills them and tries to blame Hamas if they can get away with it.

    • mkwt@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      But in cases of Israelis who also served in the IDF, the rational choice is to kill them instead of giving the IDF a propaganda win.

      This is a war crime. You can’t execute POWs just because the enemy is getting close to the POW camp.

      • alvvayson@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        2 months ago

        They aren’t combatants or PoW, taking them hostage was a human rights violation from the beginning.

        But Israel can’t really expect Hamas to follow Geneva conventions when they themselves violate it a hundreds times as often.

        • mwguy@infosec.pub
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          2 months ago

          But Israel can’t really expect Hamas to follow Geneva conventions when they themselves violate it a hundreds times as often.

          This is a massively false statement. And it’s one that should make you reconsider your viewpoint from the ground up.

          I don’t know if a more incorrect statement could be made about this conflict.