IDF says forces at a Be'eri house holding hostages made professional decisions before firing tank shells

Presenting the military's inquiry into the battle for Kibbutz Be'eri, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the police, Shin Bet and army personnel at Pessi Cohen's house "operated professionally and orderly" and fired tank shells only after negotiations were exhausted and gunfire from inside raised fears that hostages were being executed. He said the inquiry found that, to the best of its assessment, no civilians inside the house were hit by tank fire, and that it is highly likely one hostage outside was killed by tank shrapnel.

“The inquiry team determined that under the complex and harsh circumstances, the Yamam, ISA, and IDF personnel operated professionally and orderly, making professional and responsible decisions. They exhausted all negotiation efforts with the terrorists. Only after the situation deteriorated and negotiation attempts were exhausted – attempts to negotiate the rescue of the civilians – did the forces carry out tank fire, in a joint decision to try to apply pressure to the terrorists. The decision to attempt a rescue under fire was made after all negotiation attempts to rescue the hostages had been exhausted, and after a long burst of gunfire from inside the house that raised suspicions that the hostages were being executed. We conducted a thorough and joint inquiry with the Israel Police, Yamam, and the ISA, after which we presented our assessment of the circumstances of the hostages' deaths to the families. The team determined that from the information examined so far and to the best of our assessment, no civilians inside the building were hit by tank fire. The team noted that it appears that most of the hostages inside the house were murdered by the terrorists. Additionally, one incident involved hostages outside the building being hit by tank shrapnel, and it is highly likely that one of them was killed as a result.”