The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet reportedly failed to follow up on a crucial testimony from a freed hostage, who claimed he believed a female captive was being held nearby, just days before six hostages were killed in a tunnel beneath Rafah in August, according to Channel 12.
This revelation comes shortly after the IDF released its findings from an investigation into the hostages’ deaths. The investigation concluded that, although there was no real-time or concrete intelligence regarding the hostages’ specific location in the weeks leading up to their deaths, there were some general indications that Israeli captives might have been in the area.
Channel 12 reports that Farhan al-Qadi, who was rescued from Gaza on August 27, informed both the IDF and Shin Bet that he had overheard a woman speaking Hebrew near the site where he was found, weeks before his rescue. Despite offering this warning on two separate occasions, the defense establishment reportedly dismissed it as not credible and failed to pursue any further investigation.
Just two days later, on August 29, the six hostages—Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi—were murdered by their captors in a nearby tunnel. Their bodies were discovered by Israeli forces on August 31.
As part of its investigation into the killings, the IDF stated that al-Qadi did not possess any additional information regarding other hostages in the area at the time.
{Matzav.com Israel}