Latest news with #Bibas
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Israel says it killed a Hamas militant involved in Yarden Bibas kidnapping
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Released Israeli hostage, Yarden Bibas, holds a whiteboard with the message "I thank all the people of Israel for the support and help." JERUSALEM - Few of the Israelis taken hostage in the Hamas-led attack on Oct 7, 2023, have drawn as much attention as the Bibas family – two parents and two small children. For many Israelis, their abductions came to symbolise the brutality of the assault. On Aug 19, Israeli authorities said they had killed a Hamas fighter who they said had been involved in kidnapping of the father, Mr Yarden Bibas. His wife and children were abducted separately and killed in captivity. The Israeli military and the Shin Bet, the domestic security agency, said in a statement that on Aug 10, they 'struck and eliminated' Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar, whom they identified as a member of Hamas' military wing. According to the statement, Najjar 'infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz during the brutal Oct 7 massacre and took part in the abduction of Yarden Bibas.' The announcement was accompanied by an image showing Mr Bibas during his kidnapping, bleeding in what appears to be the back of a pickup truck, along with someone Israeli authorities identified as Najjar. The New York Times could not independently verify that the person in the picture was Najjar, nor that Najjar was a Hamas fighter. Hamas seldom comments on such announcements, and there does not appear to be any past mention of Najjar in Israeli or Arab news media. Mr Bibas and his family, on the other hand, are very well known. Ms Shiri Bibas was 32 when she was kidnapped with the couple's two boys – Ariel, 4, and Kfir, who was about 9 months old, the youngest of the hostages. Her parents were killed in the same kibbutz. Video circulated worldwide of a terrified Shiri Bibas clutching her children as the three of them were taken to the Gaza Strip. Mr Yarden Bibas, then 34, was captured separately. In November 2023, Hamas said Ms Shiri Bibas and the two children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israeli authorities later said after a forensic analysis of their bodies that they had been killed by their captors. As part of a temporary ceasefire deal in February, Mr Bibas was released, and the bodies of his wife and children were returned to Israel. Responding to the news that Najjar had been killed, Mr Bibas thanked Israeli authorities, saying in a statement 'a small part of my closure happened today'. 'I am waiting for full closure with the return of my friends David and Ariel, and the remaining 48 hostages,' he added, referring to David and Ariel Cunio, who grew up with Mr Bibas in the Kibbutz Nir Oz community. The Cunio brothers are still being held in Gaza. The Israeli announcement came as a humanitarian crisis grips Gaza, drawing international condemnation of Israel, and as pressure mounts within Israel on the government to end the war. On Aug 17, an estimated 400,000 Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv to call for ceasefire and a deal for the release of the remaining hostages, of whom about 20 are believed to still be alive. Many relatives of the hostages, and those who have been released from Gaza, have called on Israel not to intensify military operations in the enclave, saying it would endanger the remaining captives. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing competing pressures from some in the Israeli public who want a negotiated ceasefire and members of his far-right governing coalition who staunchly oppose a truce. Israel's security Cabinet this month approved a contentious plan to take over Gaza City, which would displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering there. Hamas said on Aug 18 that it had agreed to the terms of a deal presented by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Some Israeli leaders said Hamas' approval of the proposal came as a direct result of the Netanyahu government announcing it would expand the military offensive in Gaza. At the same time, some far-right members of Mr Netanyahu's coalition have indicated he could lose their support if he accepts the proposal. On Aug 19, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the government had approved a major expansion of the defense budget, raising it US$8 billion (S$10.2 billion), an increase of more than 25 per cent, according to Mr Yehuda Amrani, a Finance Ministry spokesperson. The Defence Ministry on Aug 19 evening said in a separate statement that Mr Katz was in talks with senior defense officials 'to approve offensive plans in Gaza'. About 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted from Israel in the Oct 7 attack. In the ensuing war, more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. NYTIMES
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
IDF, Shin Bet kill terrorist responsible for kidnapping Yarden Bibas from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7
The IDF and Shin Bet killed Najjar on August 10, publishing the confirmation on Tuesday. Israeli security forces killed a Hamas terrorist who participated in the abduction of Yarden Bibas on October 7, 2023, in Kibbutz Nir Oz, the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said in a joint statement Tuesday. The terrorist was identified as Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar, who was killed in a military strike on August 10. Yarden Bibas responds to the announcement Yarden Bibas responded to the announcement later on Tuesday. 'A small part of my closure happened today. Thank you to the IDF, the Shin Bet, and everyone who took part in eliminating one of the terrorists who kidnapped me on October 7. Thanks to you, he will no longer be able to harm anyone,' Bibas said. 'Please keep yourselves heroes. I am waiting for the full closure with the return of my friends David and Ariel and the other 48 hostages,' he added. IDF, Shin Bet killed kidnapper of other Bibas family members in April The IDF and Shin Bet struck and killed Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, a senior commander in the Military Intelligence Array in the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced in April. He was affiliated with senior commanders of the Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organization. On October 7, Awad infiltrated Nir Oz multiple times. He was one of the leaders of the massacre and was likely personally involved in the abductions and brutal murders of Shiri Bibas and her sons, Ariel and Kfir. The other members of the Bibas family were all killed by terrorists, with coffins containing their remains being returned to Israel in February. Yarden Bibas revealed that during his captivity in Gaza, he asked former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to allow him to stay with his best friend, David Cunio, he told N12 in an interview aired on May 20, a day before Cunio's 35th birthday. The interview also featured David's wife, Sharon Cunio, and his twin brother, Eitan, in an attempt to bring renewed attention to David's continued captivity. Bibas was informed about his wife's and children's death by Hamas while he was on camera, he told CBS News in March. The terrorist organization filmed him as it delivered the news to him, then told him that Shiri's, Ariel's, and Kfir's deaths were of no consequence.
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Israel kills Gaza terrorist who participated in Oct. 7 attack on kibbutz, took Yarden Bibas hostage
Israel took out a terrorist during an airstrike earlier this month who was involved in the abduction of an Israeli man on Oct. 7, 2023, authorities said Tuesday. The strike, which occurred in Gaza on Aug. 10, killed Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, announced. Advertisement 'A small part of my closure happened today. Thank you to the IDF, the Shin Bet, and everyone who took part in the elimination of one of the terrorists who kidnapped me on October 7,' Yarden Bibas said in a statement provided by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. 'Thanks to you, he will not be able to harm anyone else.' 'Please take care of yourselves, heroes. I am waiting for full closure with the return of my friends David and Ariel, and the remaining 48 hostages,' he added. Najjar was involved in the invasion of the Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the hardest hit during the deadly Oct. 7 attacks, where Bibas was kidnapped. Bibas' family was kidnapped separately and was eventually murdered while in captivity. 4 AS terrorist Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar (left) and hostage Yarden Bibas (bleeding). AP Advertisement 4 Ariel Bibas, 5, and his father Yarden Bibas in an undated photograph. Instagram / @ He spent 480 days as a hostage before he was released in January. His wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir, were killed before their bodies were returned to Israel. While in captivity, Bibas was forced to make a hostage film in which he was seen breaking down as Hamas claimed his wife and children had been killed. Hamas often uses hostage videos as part of what the IDF calls 'psychological terror.' Advertisement 4 Shiri Bibas, Ariel Bibas, 5, and Kfir Bibas, 2, being taken hostage on October 7, 2023. 4 Yarden Bibas, a hostage held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, is released by Palestinian Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, February 1, 2025. REUTERS Upon his release, Bibas' family said that 'a quarter of our heart has returned to us after 15 long months… Yarden has returned home, but the home remains incomplete.' Advertisement In the aftermath of Hamas' attack, the Bibas family became a symbol of the terror group's cruelty. Video footage of Shiri Bibas holding her two red-headed children in her arms went viral across the globe. In April, Israel said it had killed Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, a senior commander in the Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organization and who helped lead 'several' attacks on the Nir Oz kibbutz.
The Advertiser
08-06-2025
- Health
- The Advertiser
Gaza food aid paused again, amid claims of Hamas threat
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it has been forced to stop distributing desperately needed food in the war-torn strip because Hamas is threatening it, as Palestinian sources report at least 60 dead in the latest Israeli strikes. "Hamas is the reason hundreds of thousands of hungry Gazans were not fed today," the GHF, a US and Israeli-backed aid group, said in a statement on Saturday, referring to the Palestinian Islamist militia. "The group issued direct threats against GHF operations. These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk." The group charged that Hamas wants control over aid distribution so it can exploit the Gaza population. "Hamas wants to return to a broken system it once controlled and exploited - diverting aid, manipulating distribution, and putting its own agenda ahead of the Palestinian people's basic needs," the GHF said. But the group said it "will not be deterred" and it would adapt to "these threats" and return to food distribution "without delay". The GHF had already announced the temporary closure of its distribution centres on Friday. The centres were reportedly closed due to the "large crowds" in order to ensure the safety of people on site. Thousands of food packages had been distributed beforehand, it said. Around two weeks ago, Israel eased its blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza. The distribution of aid was taken over by the GHF, bypassing UN aid organisations and other initiatives. The organisation has been accused of endangering civilians and violating the standards of neutral aid. Israel says it wants to prevent Hamas from seizing the aid deliveries. Meanwhile, Palestinian medical sources said at least 60 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip since early Saturday. Dozens more have been injured, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said. The Israeli army initially provided no information, and the figures could not be independently verified. The death toll is rising by the hour as the Israeli military continues to attack various locations in the sealed-off territory. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported deaths in the areas around Khan Younis and Rafah in the south of the embattled strip, as well as in Gaza City further north. There was no initial comment from the Israeli military. The Israeli military said it had killed the leader of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades who it said was directly involved in the abduction and murder of the well-known Bibas hostages. Shiri Bibas and her two red-haired sons became symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages after video footage of the frightened mother and her two children being abducted spread around the world. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed As'ad Abu Sharaiya, in Gaza City in the north of the coastal strip in a joint special operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service. In recent years, he is said to have served as the leader of the relatively small Mujahideen Brigades. Israeli also said it had recovered the body of a Thai hostage and brought to Israel, according to a post on X. The remains of Nattapong Pinta were found in the joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet near the southern city of Rafah and brought to Israel. Pinta was said to have been abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz on the border with Gaza on October 7, 2023. He was killed while being held hostage by members of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades, the military said. The rescue was possible thanks to "precise intelligence information" and the family was informed after a forensic identification. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it has been forced to stop distributing desperately needed food in the war-torn strip because Hamas is threatening it, as Palestinian sources report at least 60 dead in the latest Israeli strikes. "Hamas is the reason hundreds of thousands of hungry Gazans were not fed today," the GHF, a US and Israeli-backed aid group, said in a statement on Saturday, referring to the Palestinian Islamist militia. "The group issued direct threats against GHF operations. These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk." The group charged that Hamas wants control over aid distribution so it can exploit the Gaza population. "Hamas wants to return to a broken system it once controlled and exploited - diverting aid, manipulating distribution, and putting its own agenda ahead of the Palestinian people's basic needs," the GHF said. But the group said it "will not be deterred" and it would adapt to "these threats" and return to food distribution "without delay". The GHF had already announced the temporary closure of its distribution centres on Friday. The centres were reportedly closed due to the "large crowds" in order to ensure the safety of people on site. Thousands of food packages had been distributed beforehand, it said. Around two weeks ago, Israel eased its blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza. The distribution of aid was taken over by the GHF, bypassing UN aid organisations and other initiatives. The organisation has been accused of endangering civilians and violating the standards of neutral aid. Israel says it wants to prevent Hamas from seizing the aid deliveries. Meanwhile, Palestinian medical sources said at least 60 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip since early Saturday. Dozens more have been injured, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said. The Israeli army initially provided no information, and the figures could not be independently verified. The death toll is rising by the hour as the Israeli military continues to attack various locations in the sealed-off territory. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported deaths in the areas around Khan Younis and Rafah in the south of the embattled strip, as well as in Gaza City further north. There was no initial comment from the Israeli military. The Israeli military said it had killed the leader of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades who it said was directly involved in the abduction and murder of the well-known Bibas hostages. Shiri Bibas and her two red-haired sons became symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages after video footage of the frightened mother and her two children being abducted spread around the world. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed As'ad Abu Sharaiya, in Gaza City in the north of the coastal strip in a joint special operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service. In recent years, he is said to have served as the leader of the relatively small Mujahideen Brigades. Israeli also said it had recovered the body of a Thai hostage and brought to Israel, according to a post on X. The remains of Nattapong Pinta were found in the joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet near the southern city of Rafah and brought to Israel. Pinta was said to have been abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz on the border with Gaza on October 7, 2023. He was killed while being held hostage by members of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades, the military said. The rescue was possible thanks to "precise intelligence information" and the family was informed after a forensic identification. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it has been forced to stop distributing desperately needed food in the war-torn strip because Hamas is threatening it, as Palestinian sources report at least 60 dead in the latest Israeli strikes. "Hamas is the reason hundreds of thousands of hungry Gazans were not fed today," the GHF, a US and Israeli-backed aid group, said in a statement on Saturday, referring to the Palestinian Islamist militia. "The group issued direct threats against GHF operations. These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk." The group charged that Hamas wants control over aid distribution so it can exploit the Gaza population. "Hamas wants to return to a broken system it once controlled and exploited - diverting aid, manipulating distribution, and putting its own agenda ahead of the Palestinian people's basic needs," the GHF said. But the group said it "will not be deterred" and it would adapt to "these threats" and return to food distribution "without delay". The GHF had already announced the temporary closure of its distribution centres on Friday. The centres were reportedly closed due to the "large crowds" in order to ensure the safety of people on site. Thousands of food packages had been distributed beforehand, it said. Around two weeks ago, Israel eased its blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza. The distribution of aid was taken over by the GHF, bypassing UN aid organisations and other initiatives. The organisation has been accused of endangering civilians and violating the standards of neutral aid. Israel says it wants to prevent Hamas from seizing the aid deliveries. Meanwhile, Palestinian medical sources said at least 60 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip since early Saturday. Dozens more have been injured, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said. The Israeli army initially provided no information, and the figures could not be independently verified. The death toll is rising by the hour as the Israeli military continues to attack various locations in the sealed-off territory. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported deaths in the areas around Khan Younis and Rafah in the south of the embattled strip, as well as in Gaza City further north. There was no initial comment from the Israeli military. The Israeli military said it had killed the leader of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades who it said was directly involved in the abduction and murder of the well-known Bibas hostages. Shiri Bibas and her two red-haired sons became symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages after video footage of the frightened mother and her two children being abducted spread around the world. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed As'ad Abu Sharaiya, in Gaza City in the north of the coastal strip in a joint special operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service. In recent years, he is said to have served as the leader of the relatively small Mujahideen Brigades. Israeli also said it had recovered the body of a Thai hostage and brought to Israel, according to a post on X. The remains of Nattapong Pinta were found in the joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet near the southern city of Rafah and brought to Israel. Pinta was said to have been abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz on the border with Gaza on October 7, 2023. He was killed while being held hostage by members of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades, the military said. The rescue was possible thanks to "precise intelligence information" and the family was informed after a forensic identification. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it has been forced to stop distributing desperately needed food in the war-torn strip because Hamas is threatening it, as Palestinian sources report at least 60 dead in the latest Israeli strikes. "Hamas is the reason hundreds of thousands of hungry Gazans were not fed today," the GHF, a US and Israeli-backed aid group, said in a statement on Saturday, referring to the Palestinian Islamist militia. "The group issued direct threats against GHF operations. These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk." The group charged that Hamas wants control over aid distribution so it can exploit the Gaza population. "Hamas wants to return to a broken system it once controlled and exploited - diverting aid, manipulating distribution, and putting its own agenda ahead of the Palestinian people's basic needs," the GHF said. But the group said it "will not be deterred" and it would adapt to "these threats" and return to food distribution "without delay". The GHF had already announced the temporary closure of its distribution centres on Friday. The centres were reportedly closed due to the "large crowds" in order to ensure the safety of people on site. Thousands of food packages had been distributed beforehand, it said. Around two weeks ago, Israel eased its blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza. The distribution of aid was taken over by the GHF, bypassing UN aid organisations and other initiatives. The organisation has been accused of endangering civilians and violating the standards of neutral aid. Israel says it wants to prevent Hamas from seizing the aid deliveries. Meanwhile, Palestinian medical sources said at least 60 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip since early Saturday. Dozens more have been injured, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said. The Israeli army initially provided no information, and the figures could not be independently verified. The death toll is rising by the hour as the Israeli military continues to attack various locations in the sealed-off territory. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported deaths in the areas around Khan Younis and Rafah in the south of the embattled strip, as well as in Gaza City further north. There was no initial comment from the Israeli military. The Israeli military said it had killed the leader of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades who it said was directly involved in the abduction and murder of the well-known Bibas hostages. Shiri Bibas and her two red-haired sons became symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages after video footage of the frightened mother and her two children being abducted spread around the world. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed As'ad Abu Sharaiya, in Gaza City in the north of the coastal strip in a joint special operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service. In recent years, he is said to have served as the leader of the relatively small Mujahideen Brigades. Israeli also said it had recovered the body of a Thai hostage and brought to Israel, according to a post on X. The remains of Nattapong Pinta were found in the joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet near the southern city of Rafah and brought to Israel. Pinta was said to have been abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz on the border with Gaza on October 7, 2023. He was killed while being held hostage by members of the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades, the military said. The rescue was possible thanks to "precise intelligence information" and the family was informed after a forensic identification.
The Sun
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Hamas terrorists who murdered, raped & kidnapped innocents will be hanged in first Israeli death penalty in six decades
EVIL Hamas terrorists who slaughtered, raped and tortured innocent civilians on October 7 are set to be executed, prosecutors told The Sun. It will be the first time Israel has exercised the death penalty in more than 60 years in a testament to the depth of depravity of the terror group 's crimes. 7 7 7 Israeli intelligence officers have worked tirelessly to scour piles of evidence collected since Hamas triggered war in October 2023. Agents have been putting together a compelling case to charge multiple monsters who murdered and assaulted citizens after tearing through Israel's defences. Evidence found on laptops seized during military operations in Gaza has allowed intelligence chiefs to compile a strong case to go to trial. At least 22 Hamas terrorists are set to be charged - all of whom attacked kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the worst hit sites of the atrocity. The kibbutz, just a mile from the Gaza border, was attacked from three directions and Hamas brutes killed at random. Spineless terrorists torched homes as families cowered inside before dragging hostages, including Shiri Bibas and her son Ariel and Kfir and Oded Lifshitz, back to Gaza. Their bodies were sickeningly released in a stomach-churning ceremony earlier this year. Israel's leading prosecutors believe that because of the callous nature of Hamas' crimes, the beasts will likely be executed. Sources involved in the case confirmed to The Sun those found guilty could be sent to the gallows and hanged. It would be the first time the country has executed anyone since the only time it did so in 1962, when wicked Nazi Adolf Eichmann was executed. Military prosecutor Alan Baker, who has been a judge on scores of high-profile terrorist cases, said Israel is also no longer concerned by international pressure in dealing with these matters. Baker, former legal adviser to Israel's Foreign Office and ex-Israeli ambassador to Canada, told The Sun: "About 30 years ago, I was the prosecutor on the trial of a particularly nasty and cruel terrorist, and I managed to get him convicted with the death penalty. "It wasn't carried out at the time, because of a theory that it could encourage terrorists to do more horrific acts, if they feel like they are going to die anyway. "There is of course, also always the concern of what the international community thinks too. "In these particular cases, because of the cruel nature of these atrocities, I don't think the sensitivity of what world will think will be considered, as there is now the feeling that the rest of the world inevitably hate us whatever we do. 'We are still as hated as we were eighty years ago. 'These people not only crossed the border illegally, but there are thousands of residents of Gaza who tagged along, who stole whatever they liked, televisions, etc. and set fire to houses. What happened to the Bibas family? HAMAS terrorists kidnapped the Bibas family from their home in Nir Oz during the horror October 7 assault. Yarden Bibas was abducted separately from his wife Shiri and son Ariel, four, and nine-month-old Kfir. They were hauled to Gaza where they were held hostage. Shiri's parents were both killed in the attack on the kibbutz. Shiri and her boys - the two youngest hostages taken from Israel on October 7 - became symbols of the hostage crisis. Late in 2023, Hamas claimed the mum and youngsters were killed in an Israeli airstrike without offering any proof. Israeli authorities were unable to confirm their deaths. Fears for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir grew as the months went by amid a lack of confirmation whether they were still alive or not. On February 1, Yarden was released amid the ceasefire after 484 days in captivity. Then on February 20, Hamas handed over coffins it said contained the bodies of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir. Ariel and Kfir's remains were verified by Israel, but the remains of the female did not match Shiri's DNA. Her body was finally handed back on the evening of February 21. Hundreds lined the streets for their funerals on February 26, with buildings and monuments around the world illuminated in orange as a tribute to the boys' hair colour. Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were buried alongside her parents in Tsoher Regional Cemetery. 'There is a vast array of offenses that have been committed, including the heavy stuff, rape and murders, and these crimes against humanity will have to be dealt with very seriously.' Baker, who now heads the international law program at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign and Security Affairs, has implored the prosecuting team to fully consider "the seriousness of these criminals". He added: "They committed these crimes in Israel, they invaded, they committed offences according to Israeli law, and this will have to be overseen by Israeli judges. 'I would tell them not to take into consideration what the Pope, the French government, the British etc will say, because inevitably whatever we do, whether we keep them in prison or we hang them, Israel will be condemned anyway. 'I trust they will do what they need to do, without looking at any external consideration. That is the last thing that should enter into the equation.' 7 7 As well as the 22 set for indictment, at least 300 more terrorists who took part in the October 7 attacks are being held in Israeli prisons. Maurice Hirsch, director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform in the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, said the complexity of Israel's legal system means the cases could go in many directions. But because these are deemed the most horrific acts since the Holocaust, the death penalty upon conviction is the most likely outcome, he said. Hirsch, a senior legal analyst at Human Rights Voices, said: 'The death penalty may seem like a crazy scenario to contemplate, but it is very possible. "They should be subject to the death penalty, but it will depend on whether Israel will be able to withstand international pressure. 'There is a question of which crimes we prosecute for. If there is no specific one victim, and as they [the terrorists] don't even know who they've murdered, that could make things challenging. 'Where, when were they arrested? We can see if any of them can be linked to direct crimes. Fogs are still uncovering, but the country will do well if we can clear this up. 'It would be convenient if we could isolate 22 cases, but if I was a defense lawyer, I would ask for the evidence of mass murder.' More than a quarter of the kibbutz's residents were either killed or taken hostage in one of the most vile atrocities on October 7. Per capita, Nir Oz suffered the most bloodshed and damage. 7
