Israeli military says three hostages rescued months ago were likely killed in November airstrike

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says there is a “high probability” that three hostages found dead several months ago were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The Army announced Sunday the findings of its investigation into the deaths of Corporal Nik Beizer, Sergeant Ron Sherman and Elia Toledano.

Investigations determined that the three men were likely killed in a November airstrike that also killed senior Hamas official Ahmed Ghandour.

The three hostages were abducted during the Hamas attack on October 7. Their bodies were found in December, but the cause of their deaths was not determined until recently.

In its report, the military said there was a “high probability” that the two men were killed in the attack, given the location of the bodies, pathology reports and other intelligence. But it added that it was “not possible to determine with certainty the circumstances of their deaths.”

The findings could increase pressure on the government to reach a deal to repatriate the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Critics say it is too difficult and dangerous to try to free them.

A missile fired by Iran-backed Yemeni rebels landed in an open area in central Israel early Sunday and set off air raid sirens at the international airport, the latest episode in the nearly year-long war in Gaza. Israel has signaled it will retaliate militarily.

No casualties or major damage were reported, but Israeli media broadcast footage showing people rushing to shelters at Ben Gurion International Airport. Airport authorities said normal operations resumed shortly afterward.

A fire was seen in a rural area of ​​central Israel, and local media showed footage of what appeared to be a fragment of an interceptor landing on an escalator at a train station in the central city of Modiin.

The Israeli military said it made several attempts to intercept the missile using its multi-layered air defenses, but has not yet determined whether each of them was successful. It said the missile appeared to have fragmented in mid-air and that the incident was still under investigation. The military said the sound of explosions in the area came from interceptors.

Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, have repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but almost all have been intercepted over the Red Sea.

In July, an Iranian-made drone launched by the Houthis struck Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding ten others. Israel responded with a wave of airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, including the port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold.

Israel says it will respond to attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested a similar response at a cabinet meeting after Sunday’s attack.

“The Houthis should have known that we charge a heavy price for any attempt to harm us,” he said. “Anyone who needs a booster is invited to go to the port of Hodeidah.”

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the rebel military spokesman, said they fired a ballistic missile targeting “a military target” in the Tel Aviv area.

The Houthis have also repeatedly attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea, in what the rebels say is a blockade on Israel in support of the Palestinians. Most of the ships targeted have no connection to Israel.

On Sunday, a European Union naval mission operating in the Red Sea said rescuers had begun towing an oil tanker that had been burning for weeks after a Houthi attack. Aspides operations said the Greek-flagged Sounion was being transported to a “safe location.”

The war in Gaza, which began on October 7 with a Hamas attack in southern Israel, has spread across the region, with Iran and allied militant groups attacking Israeli and American targets and provoking retaliatory strikes from Israel and its Western allies. At times, the strikes and counterattacks have threatened to spark a wider conflict.

International airlines have repeatedly cancelled flights to and from Israel since the start of the war, worsening the economic toll of the war on the country.

Iran backs armed groups across the region, including Hamas, the Houthis and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, its most powerful ally, which has exchanged fire with Israel almost daily since the start of the Gaza war. Iran and its allies say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

ROCKETS FIRED FROM LEBANON

The army said about 40 projectiles were fired from Lebanon early Sunday, most of which were intercepted or fell in open areas.

In another incident, Israeli forces dropped leaflets over the Lebanese border town of al-Wazzani calling on residents to evacuate. The military later said there had been no evacuation order and that a local commander had acted without approval from his superiors. The incident is under investigation.

It is unclear whether anyone evacuated the town or whether a message was sent to residents that the leaflets had been dropped in error.

The strikes along the Israeli-Lebanese border have displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides. Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a larger military operation against Hezbollah to ensure the return of its citizens to their homes.

“The status quo will not continue,” Netanyahu said at the cabinet meeting. “This requires a change in the balance of power on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that our residents can return home safely.”

GAZA SMUGGLING TUNNELS BLOCKED

Hezbollah has said it would stop its attacks if a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. The United States and Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar have spent much of the year trying to negotiate a truce and the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas, but negotiations have repeatedly failed.

In recent weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed the need for Israel to maintain control over the part of the Gaza-Egypt border that Israeli forces seized in May. He has claimed that Hamas is using a network of tunnels under the border to import weapons, allegations denied by Egypt, which, like Hamas, opposes any sustained Israeli presence in that part of the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli military official said Saturday night that of the dozens of tunnels discovered along the border, only nine entered Egypt and all had been closed. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence, said it was unclear when the tunnels were closed.

The discovery appears to weaken Netanyahu’s argument that Israel must maintain unfettered control of the corridor to prevent cross-border smuggling.

Egypt said it closed the tunnels on its side of the border years ago, in part by creating its own military buffer zone along the frontier.

Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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