JERUSALEM

A tank struck a residence housing Israeli hostages in the Be'eri settlement during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, an Israeli daily reported.

“An Israeli tank arrived at the Be'eri kibbutz hours after the massacre began on Oct. 7 and fired shells towards the house of Bessy Cohen, where Hamas members were holding hostages,” according to the Haaretz newspaper.

⬛ New footage released by Israeli media shows an Israeli tank firing at a house in the Be’eri settlement with Israeli hostages inside, according to Israeli daily Haaretz

• Yasmin Porat, a hostage who was released, asked Israeli soldiers if the tank shells would endanger other… pic.twitter.com/slyNVSVYAT

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 20, 2023

This conclusion was drawn based on a video released by Israeli Channel 12, captured from a police helicopter called to the area during the attack.

“Yasmin Borat, who escaped from a nature party in the Re'im settlement and took refuge in one of the kibbutz houses, asked a soldier if the shells would harm the hostages. The soldier replied, 'We only do that on the sides of the houses to bring down the walls,' according to the newspaper.

Hadas Dagan, one of the residents who hid with her husband outside the house where her neighbors were held, was quoted saying: “I was hit by shrapnel from the shell that targeted my neighbor's house.”

According to a Channel 12 report, soldiers in the kibbutz stated that the helicopter first opened warning shots, hitting a tank and then another tank arrived and opened fire at the house.

Yair Avital, a member of the reserve unit in the settlement, was quoted saying: “500 soldiers were standing outside (the house), and no one was dealing with the situation. People were losing blood every minute, and the army standing outside did not understand what was happening here.”

As of today, the Israeli army or police have not officially acknowledged the killing of Israelis by their forces on Oct. 7.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul