The Israeli military announced today that three hostages who died in Gaza in November “probably” killed by an Israeli strike, according to the results of an investigation into the circumstances of their death.

“According to the results of the investigation, there is a high probability that the three were killed following an army airstrike…on November 10, 2023,” the army said in a statement.

Israel recovered the bodies of soldiers Nick Beiser and Ron Sherman and French-Israeli Elias Tolentano in December in the Gaza Strip, where they were held hostage.

The army emphasized that the hostages were killed “during an operation to kill the commander of the Northern Brigade of Hamas, Ahmed Ghadour”.

“The investigation shows that the three hostages were being held in the network of underground tunnels in which Ghadour operated,” he added, clarifying that the army had “no information about the presence of hostages at the point targeted” by the strike.

Hamas confirmed in late November that Ahmed Ghadour was killed by the Israeli army.

A relative of the family of one of the three hostages confirmed to AFP that they had been informed of the results of this investigation a few hours before the army’s announcement.

In December, the army announced that it had accidentally killed three Hamas hostages in the northern Gaza Strip, Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz, Samer al-Talalka, who were shot by soldiers who did not recognize them as hostages.

Since October 7, 27 hostages have been killed in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel killed 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, which also includes hostages killed in captivity.

Of the 251 people abducted during this attack, 97 are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 33 of whom the Israeli military has declared dead.

Israel’s military campaign of retaliation has left at least 41,206 dead in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry, without specifying how many of them were civilians and how many were fighters.