Israeli Military Prioritized Sinwar Hunt Over Prisoners’ Lives, Report Reveals
Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- A new investigation by The New York Times has uncovered military maps showing that Israeli forces operated in a restricted zone in Gaza and killed six Israeli prisoners despite knowing they were there. The Israeli army had previously claimed it was unaware of their presence in the area.
In late August, Israeli commandos launched a mission in southern Gaza to locate Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s top leader in the region. According to five Israeli military officials, the army suspected that Israeli prisoners were being held in tunnels nearby. On August 27, commandos confirmed at least one captive in the area, discovering Arab Israeli prisoner Farhan Al-Qadi alive in a tunnel.
Fearing for the safety of other prisoners, the army briefly suspended its mission. However, according to military sources, the pursuit of Sinwar took precedence. Despite the risks, the commandos resumed their operation shortly after. By August 31, instead of finding Sinwar, they discovered the bodies of six Israeli prisoners in a tunnel.
The investigation also shed light on Israeli airstrikes that killed three Israeli prisoners in November 2023. Although the military confirmed in March 2024 that it had killed the prisoners, it withheld this information from their families for months. A forensic report, later reviewed by The Times, indicated the men may have suffocated due to toxic gases released by an explosion caused by an Israeli missile.
The mother of one of the victims, Maayan Sherman, launched a public campaign demanding answers. In September, the military finally had to admit that the men were killed in an Israeli airstrike but did not disclose the exact cause of death.
Hamas has repeatedly warned of Israel’s carpet bombing that killed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, most of whom were women and children, as well as Israeli prisoners. Netanyahu, however, insisted that he prefers what he calls “military preassuere”.
