Omri Shifroni
Role at the time: Kibbutz Be'eri resident and relative of hostages killed in Pessi Cohen's house
Statement summary
Omri Shifroni, whose aunt and her grand-niece and grand-nephew were killed in Pessi Cohen's house, told ABC News in Australia that the decision to fire tank shells at the house was "not the right decision, not a good decision and not moral." He said he understood there was great chaos and pressure to end the event, and that he thinks the forces did not intend to kill hostages.
“I think it was not the right decision, not a good decision and not moral. But I can also understand there was great chaos in Be'eri and there was a lot of pressure to end the event there. I think they didn't intend to shoot and to kill hostages, but when you shoot a tank shell on a house, you need to take into account that that is likely to happen.”
An ABC investigation by its Middle East correspondents. It quotes Kibbutz Be'eri resident Omri Shifroni, whose aunt and her grand-niece and grand-nephew were killed in Pessi Cohen's house, Pessi Cohen's daughter-in-law Sharon Cohen, former Air Force colonel Nof Erez, and an IDF statement saying questions of this kind would be looked into at a later stage. The ABC corrected the story on September 10, 2024 to say a reported order was given at midday on October 7, not midnight.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is the Israeli military's use of fire on October 7, 2023, under or in the manner of the Hannibal Directive, that put Israeli captives at risk of being killed by Israeli forces. Shifroni says firing tank shells at a house holding hostages was wrong and not moral. He also says he understands the chaos and pressure and believes the forces did not intend to kill hostages, which explains the decision without endorsing it. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional; we used Condemned because his own judgment of the decision is negative.