The IDF informed families of hostages executed by Hamas in Gaza that Kaid Farhan Alkadi who was rescued by forces in August told the troops that he had heard the voice of a female speaking Hebrew nearby. Later six Israelis were found executed in a Rafah tunnel.
The information was given to the families of the six slain hostages last week and was not made known to the general public until a report on local channel 12 on Saturday.
The military apologized for withholding the information. They said Alkadi had told the rescuers that he had been held in seclusion and had not seen any other hostages.
2 View gallery
From top left: Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat and Almog Sarusi
(Photo: Courtesy of the families, AP)
Alkadi was found on his own after his captors escaped. The IDF said that his report of voices would not have changed the fate of the hostages because the military suspended all operations for 24-hours to assess the situation before continuing their offensive. At that time sensors were activated and there was no indication that any other hostages were nearby. Later on the bodies of the six executed hostages were found in a tunnel, hundreds of meters away as the crow flies.
Funeral of slain hostage Hirsh Goldberg-Polin
(Alyamama TV)
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The military that had been conducting an investigation into their operations in Gaza said that lessons were learned during the ground offensive and new technologies were put into use to ensure no incidents such as the execution of hostages as troops neared their captives, were possible after the realization that the terrorists put their captives to death if the believe they may be uncovered by the IDF forces.