The American daily Washington Post (WP) compared and analyzed two videos posted on Telegram on the 8th and revealed that Hamas appears to have massacred at least four hostages. They threatened to kill the hostages if they attacked them, but it appears that massacres were already taking place from the beginning of the kidnapping.
According to WP on the 9th, at least four Israelis who were taken hostage at Beeri Kibbutz (collective farm) in southern Israel during the attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas on the 7th died immediately after being taken prisoner. WP compared the two videos posted on the 8th and confirmed that in one video, four hostages were being taken away by armed combatants with their hands tied behind their backs.
These were civilians, men and women, and some walked barefoot. However, the second video showed four bodies scattered on the floor of the road they were walking on. They did not move as if they were dead, and WP confirmed that the bodies were the four people in the previous video based on physical characteristics such as hair and clothing.
The first video of the hostages being taken was filmed about an hour and a half after Hamas began its attack on Israel.
Kibbutz Beeri appears to have been subject to mass killings and kidnappings, as was the case at the Leim Kibbutz music festival. “A large team found at least 108 bodies at Kibbutz Beeri throughout the day,” Israeli search and rescue agency Zaka said.
Zaka said it was unclear whether this number was included in the government’s death statistics. According to Zakah officials, after entering Kibbutz Beeri, Hamas appears to have brutally killed and murdered those found in their cars and homes at sight.
Hamas warned on the 9th that it would kill hostages if Israel attacked civilian areas in the Gaza Strip without prior warning.
The government press office under the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office estimated the number of hostages at about 150. The press office said about 900 deaths were reported in Hamas attacks. The Palestinian Ministry of Health counted 687 deaths in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.