The Israel Defense Forces blamed Palestinian civilian casualties in a hostage rescue operation on the tactics of the terrorist organization Hamas.
Israel carried out one of its first hostage rescue operations within Gaza, in an operation IDF Chief Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari compared to its famous raid on Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976.
Unlike that operation, however, the raid into the Nuseirat camp wrought dozens of civilian casualties. Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry put the total number of killed at 274 Palestinians, with many being civilians, while Israel put the total at less than 100, according to reports. One Israeli officer was killed, while four hostages were rescued.
When asked whether the IDF factored in the loss of so many Palestinians in the operation, IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner first cast doubt on the high Palestinian casualty figures, then blamed Hamas for the casualties.
“Martha, every civilian life lost in this war is a tragedy. Every civilian life lost in this war is a result of how Hamas has operated,” he told ABC News’s This Week.
“Let’s think about, just for a moment, where they were holding the hostages. Within civilian houses. Within people’s apartments. In the same apartment they were being held were the families that owned the apartments. This exemplifies specifically how Hamas is operating,” he continued.
When pressed, Lerner insisted that the airstrikes on surrounding buildings, which killed dozens, were essential to the operation.
“The forces came under fire from a 360-degree threat,” he said. “RPGs, AK-47s, explosive devices on the way, mortar rounds. It was, is, a war zone. And so civilians in that — the tragedy of civilians being caught up in this is precisely because of how Hamas is battling us on the battleground.”
When asked, Lerner didn’t rule out the possibility of similar operations in the future.
The operation was meticulously planned over the course of weeks, with the United States assisting with intelligence, according to two U.S. officials speaking with CBS News. According to Hagari, two mock-up apartment replicas of the two where the hostages were being held were used by Israeli commandos to train for the operation.
The operation was unusual for occurring in broad daylight — the IDF said this was to maintain the element of surprise. The other result was for the streets to be crowded with hundreds of civilians shopping at a nearby market. One local resident, Nidal Abdo, estimated to CNN that 150 rockets fell within 10 minutes, wreaking havoc.
Videos published on social media showed dozens of civilian casualties. Footage of the aftermath showed all surrounding buildings destroyed or heavily damaged.
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U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the loss of civilian lives was “tragic,” but also blamed them on Hamas.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas decried the operation as a “gruesome massacre.”
