The American newspaper “The New York Times” documented in an investigative report the killing of Israeli settlers, after an Israeli military commander ordered the bombing of a house in which they were being held, with a tank in the “Be’eri” settlement, during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation carried out by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7. Last October in the Gaza Strip.
The newspaper said in a lengthy report that took 10 weeks to prepare, and included an interview with 80 Israelis from the settlement and an analysis of dozens of video clips: “With a state of military chaos, General Barak Hiram was suddenly appointed responsible for the Israeli efforts to reclaim Be’eri and the surrounding area.”
She added that General Hiram was considered a rising star in the Israeli army, and was scheduled to take command of the army’s Gaza Division next year, and his division was operating in northern Israel and in the West Bank.
She added that he arrived in Be’eri around four in the afternoon, to find a disorganized mixture of Israeli units fighting in different parts of the settlement.
Surveillance camera footage showed soldiers reclaiming the settlement’s dining hall, fanning out across the parking lot, and evacuating wounded residents through the side gate that Palestinian fighters had used hours earlier to penetrate the settlement.
She added that a complex situation was developing in that house, where the 14 hostages were being held, and to slow down the soldiers’ advance, the kidnappers forced nearly half of the hostages, including the Dagan family, into the backyard of the house, and placed the hostages between the troops and the house.
She pointed out that at approximately four o’clock in the evening, the police SWAT team and the gunmen began exchanging fire, while the hostages in the backyard were trapped in the middle.
Military chaos
The newspaper said that a Palestinian fighter hid in the kitchen and began to take off his clothes at the request of the Israeli army to ensure that he was not armed. Then he suddenly grabbed Mrs. Porat and took her out of the house towards the SWAT team.
She noted that Ms. Dagan saw at least two hostages and one of the kidnappers killed in the shooting, and said it was not clear who killed them.
She added that as night approached, the Israeli Special Forces Commander and General Hiram began to argue, and the Special Forces Division Commander thought that more kidnappers might surrender, while the General wanted to resolve the situation at night.
Then he said to the tank commander – according to the newspaper – “The negotiations have ended, storm the house even if it was at the cost of civilian casualties, and the tank fired two shells towards the house.”
She added that a fragment of the second shell hit Mr. Dagan in the neck, cutting an artery and killing him, according to what his wife said. The kidnappers were also killed during the clash, and only two of the 14 hostages survived, namely Mrs. Dagan and Mrs. Porat.
A few days ago, the Israeli media confirmed that an occupation army tank had opened fire on a house containing Israeli hostages in the Be’eri settlement, and broadcast an investigation that included pictures taken from an Israeli police plane that clearly showed the Israeli tank bombing the house.
