Bodies of 4 Hostages Found Under a Rug in an Innocent Civilian’s Home in Gaza

“There is not a house here in which we didn’t find at least 5 improvised explosive devices waiting,” said Rotem.

“The holes create a network between the buildings,” he explained, as the stench of death hung in the air. “The terrorists here know how to set up ambushes in killing zones in alleys, in yards.”

“We met an enemy that is a bit more determined and ready,” explained one of the company commanders. “We took them apart very quickly. But it was a system that functioned. When a drone appeared, so did mortars or rockets. If there was sniper fire, then there was an RPG.”

Under a rug in Gazan home, IDF troops found shaft leading to bodies of 4 hostages

The Times of Israel joins paratroopers fighting in the heart of Jabaliya’s refugee camp, where a determined officer made a sad but profound discovery — days before he was killed

By Lazar Berman, Times of Israel, 23 May 2024;

JABALIYA — Three drones patrolled overhead in languid circles. A smaller quadcopter took off buzzily from a four-story structure, which a Hamas commander had called home until Paratrooper Battalion 202 stormed into the Jabaliya refugee camp two weeks ago.

Now, Lt. Col. Almog Rotem uses the building in the northern Gaza Strip as a temporary command post, as his forces continue to drive toward the sea, flushing out organized Hamas resistance.

Across a narrow alley — now strewn with pieces of concrete and metal, clothing, and the detritus of urban combat — sits a smaller home with a jagged hole blasted into one side. Inside, a small child’s bike and a wheelchair lie crumpled amid the cinder blocks.

A family had lived in that home until they cleared out ahead of the Israeli paratroopers’ arrival. But amid the furniture and children’s toys, the house had contained a gruesome secret.

Last Thursday, the bodies of four Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7– Itzhak Gelerenter, Amit Buskila, Ron Benjamin and Shani Louk – were discovered by Israel Defense Forces troops in a tunnel dug under that very home…..

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