Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan Conricus at the IDSF conference, Jan. 25, 2024.(photo credit: TAMIR HAION)
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While Hamas has claimed over 200 Palestinians were killed in an operation to rescue four hostages, Israeli estimates leave that number below 100 and charge that many were killed by terrorist fire.
Former IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus was asked by BBC News on Sunday if the IDF should have warned Palestinians before conducting an operation which saw four hostages rescued from Hamas captivity.
“I was asked at @bbc whether the @idf should have warned Palestinians before launching the rescue operation today. What do you think?” Conricus wrote on X.
Four hostages were rescued simultaneously from two separate nearby locations in Nuseirat in central Gaza, in a high-risk joint operation by the IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Yamam and police on Saturday.
Palestinians killed during the rescue operation
Hamas has claimed that over 200 Palestinians were killed in the operation. The terror group has repeatedly been accused of inflating the number of deaths and failing to distinguish deaths among civilians and terrorists. The IDF implied that dozens of terrorists were killed, but left open the possibility that potentially some dozens of Palestinian civilians might also have been killed.
IDF footage of former Gaza hostage Noa Argamani being evacuated in a Black Hawk helicopter. June 8, 2024. (credit: SCREENSHOT/IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
“Jonathan, there is concern about the death toll among Palestinians. Do you think Israeli forces anticipated the level of casualties that occurred?” the interviewer asked Conricus.
The room in the apartment where former hostage Noa Argamani was held hostage in the Gaza Strip. (credit: walla!
Conricus, in response, stressed the need for an impartial look at the casualties. He then made clear that Palestinian civilians held the hostages in a civilian area, citing Hamas and other officials.
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As a vehicle carrying the rescued hostages got stuck and was vulnerable to terrorist attacks, the IDF Division 98 and the air force was forced to unleash a massive barrage of fire.
“As regrettable as any loss of life is, I think that we would have to investigate…who are the people who jailed these Israeli civilians for eight months, why did they do it, what was the role of the surrounding community…who for sure were aware of the fact that the Israeli hostages were held in their midst…”
The interviewer responded that “we don’t know for sure” that the civilians holding the hostages, and those surrounding, were complicit with Hamas. She added that there were reports of women and children among the dead. Hamas automatically considers women and people aged under 17 as civilians, regardless of any role or function they play in or for the terror group.
“Would there have been a warning to those civilians for them to get out on time?” the interviewer inquired.
Responding to her question, Conricus answered “For sure, we cannot anticipate, Israel to give a warning ahead of a raid to extract or to save hostages because then, what the terrorists would do is to kill the hostages and that would defeat the purpose.”
Conricus confirmed that Israel could not confirm all the Palestinians killed were complicit in the hostages’s captivity but that there were reports of a significant firefight. This meant that some of the alleged casualties could have been the result of “reckless Palestinian fire,” he added.
Conricus, comparing the situation to the hostage captivity in Rafah, was that there were repeated examples of Palestinian civilians being complicit with Hamas and the captivity of Israeli hostages.
YONAH JEREMY BOB contributed to this report.
