Israel at war the 71st day. IDF spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari issued a statement to the media this evening (Saturday) in which he referred to the killing of the abductees in Gaza and said that "the war invites us to very difficult and complex situations with unprecedented characteristics that we have not faced in the past."
He also said, "Today we published the details of the initial investigation of the incident in which three abductees were killed by our forces. The findings of the investigation were passed on to all the fighters in Gaza. And also to the families of the dead. The IDF will fully investigate the incident."
"At the end of the week, the IDF and the Shin Bet operated at the Kamal Adwan hospital," said Hagari. "We arrested more than 90 terrorists who directed us to weapons in the baby ward and other locations, in addition we attacked places in the Rafah sector that were used to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip."
Hagari referred to the Houthi threat and said, "We received a reminder of the cooperation with friends. A vessel of the Fifth Fleet intercepted 14 unmanned aerial vehicles that were launched from the Houthi area on their way to Israel. They were intercepted in the Red Sea."
The abductees did everything possible so that they would not be suspected
When asked by the reporters why the possibility of the abductees staying in the area did not come up, Hagari replied that "This is a tragic event. They did everything possible so that they would not be suspected. We are checking the nearby building where they may have been. Unfortunately, it ended with these tragic results. You have to understand, the forces that are in the field, fight terrorists all the time, terrorists who wear civilian clothes and carry out pull-out attacks. This is the combat environment.
"And yet," says Hagari, "the fighters in the field thought they would find abductees lying down or in handcuffs, and did not imagine that they would find them walking around in the field. This is the mistake. There is a lot to learn from this incident, from the Chief of Staff to the last fighter in the field."
To the question if there was no prior intelligence about the presence of abductees in the area, he answered "We have intelligence in different areas. There was no intelligence about abductees who were abandoned or escaped. If there was such intelligence, the entire sector would have received such information and would have prepared accordingly."