Probe finds troops' presence likely led to killing of hostages

JERUSALEM/GAZA — The Israeli army said on Tuesday it had concluded that military operations in southern Gaza likely led to the killing by Hamas of six hostages in August.

The recovery of the bodies triggered deep shock in Israel, prompting half a million people to stage street protests demanding the government enter a hostage deal with Hamas.

The hostages were killed just before soldiers reached them, with their bodies found in an underground shaft in Rafah, according to the military.

The military probe into the deaths found that Israeli "ground activities in the area, although gradual and cautious, had a circumstantial influence on the terrorists' decision to murder the six hostages", the army said in a statement on Tuesday.

It said that "based on the investigation, the hostages were murdered by gunfire from Hamas" while Israeli forces were operating in the Tel al-Sultan area.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group responded to the army's statement by calling for action to bring back all remaining hostages. "We need a deal that will ensure the return of all hostages within a quick and predetermined time frame," it said.

With the conflict ongoing, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that an Israeli delegation returned from a "significant" round of talks in Qatar aimed at securing a truce and the release of dozens of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, have taken place in Doha in recent days, rekindling hope of an agreement that has proved elusive.

On Monday, Netanyahu told parliament that there was "some progress" in the negotiations, and on Tuesday his office said Israeli negotiators had returned from Qatar after "significant negotiations".

The length of the cease-fire has been a key sticking point in previous failed negotiation attempts. Hamas seeks to end the conflict entirely, while Israel insists on removing Hamas' control over Gaza before any resolution and maintaining a military presence in the Palestinian enclave even after the cease-fire.

Progress on truce

Hamas and other Palestinian groups have also reported progress this week toward a cease-fire.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry on Tuesday, Israeli soldiers raided a hospital in isolated northern Gaza after forcing all the patients and most of the doctors to leave. The Israeli military confirmed its troops had entered the hospital as part of an operation searching for Hamas fighters.

After Israel acknowledged that it was responsible for the killing of former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Teheran earlier this year, Iran on Tuesday denounced what it termed Israel's "brazen admission", accusing the country of having carried out a "heinous crime" and defending its missile-strike response.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians in raids on Tuesday on a refugee camp near the city of Tulkarm, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.

Hamas' armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement two of its members were killed by Israeli forces in Tulkarm.

The yearlong conflict has sparked a wider regional tension that involves Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi militias.

On Wednesday, Houthis said that they had fired a ballistic missile at central Israel, with Israeli forces saying they intercepted the attack.

The missile was aimed at the Tel Aviv area, the Houthis said. The Israelis reported it was shot down before it entered Israeli territory.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles at Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians since the fighting in Gaza began.

Most have been intercepted, but on Saturday an attack that hit Tel Aviv wounded 16 people, prompting a warning from Netanyahu.

Agencies - Xinhua