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The new recordings showed an interaction between a Shin Bet official and one of the Hamas militants, who threatened to shoot all hostages en route to Gaza if the Israeli Army opened fire.
At least 253 people were taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7. (Reuters/File)
New recordings of a hostage-taking situation during the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in Israel’s Kibbutz Be’eri have underscored the horror of Israeli captives barricaded with 40 militants on the ill-fated day. Most of the captives did not survive.
The recordings, published by Israel’s Channel 12 on Friday, were taken in real-time by the Shin Bet agency from Be’eri resident Pessi Cohen’s house, where 40 Hamas militants were holed up with 15 Israeli hostages. Only two captives survived.
Negotiations for the release of hostages took place and Israeli forces and Hamas fought intensely outside the residence, The Jerusalem Post reported citing the report. A recording released between one of the two survivors at Cohen’s house showed Yasmin Porat speaking to a Shin Bet representative.
“I am here in Kibbutz Be’eri with 50 hostages along with Palestinian guys, everyone here is crying a lot. They want to take us with them to Gaza,” Porat said. “Things are very bad, there’s one person here badly injured, another already starting to feel unwell, and one that was killed. They’re taking us with them either way – alive or dead.”
Porat recalled that Hamas militants noticed that she was not “nervous enough” and was speaking calmly as children near her were begging for their lives. The children were later killed by Hamas.
‘I Will Murder All Hostages’
Another recording captured a Hamas militant, named “Hassan” in the report, who was captured threatening to kill all hostages if Israeli forces intervened while they were taking hostages to Gaza.
“I have 50 people hostage with me. I want to go with the 50 to Gaza. Listen to my instructions now, so that I don’t start murdering them. You now have five minutes for me to leave the settlement and take them to Gaza. Any attempt at intervention by the air force, fighters, tanks, or vehicles – I will murder all 50,” Hassan was heard saying.
The Shin Bet representative was heard trying to buy some time with the militant, asking him for 20 more minutes to update the Israeli forces on the ground. However, Hassan and other militants did not cooperate with the request and tried to take hostages on jeeps heading towards Gaza. They failed to do so as Israeli forces were operating outside the house.
While the Shin Bet official tried to communicate to the Israeli soldiers that they should not shoot, Hassan was recorded saying, “The army came to me, here the army came to me.” Hassan said he would give Israeli forces five minutes to reveal themselves, after which he would shoot a hostage.
He went on to threaten to shoot another every five minutes if his demands were not met. “You stay on the line and hear them die,” he told the Israeli official, who told Hassan that he won’t be able to help if he starts killing people.
‘We Want To Die, We Don’t Care’
Hassan kept up with his threats. “Don’t make me get to a point where I kill people. We want to die, we don’t care. I want you to tell the little girl that it’s a shame she’s going to die,” he said, referring to a hostage named Liel, as per the report.
The little girl pleaded with the Shin Bet official, saying, “Can you please come and pick us up? We’re asking. I’m a girl, I have school tomorrow, I need help!” Hassan said at the time of the recording that more than a hundred hostages were already in Gaza.
An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) team reached the spot and Hassan reportedly used Porat as a human shield to get past them, while other Hamas militants also used similar tactics. “Let the army kill them, we will not kill them,” Hassan was recorded as saying.
The militants later fled into a house and forced six hostages to stand outside. Porat, who was inside, was recorded as telling the Shin Bet official. “Save us, they’re shooting at us here, we’re about to die, you’re not normal – the IDF is shooting at us!” However, the information was not passed on to the soldiers, who continued to shoot at the house with hostages.
Hassan berated the Shin Bet official. “You hit a house with hostages in it, here there are wounded hostages on your side – we didn’t shoot, you were the ones who shot,” he said. He later agreed to turn himself in under the premise that he would not be shot.
However, the exchange of fire continued with the rest of Hamas militants in the house and 13 hostages were killed. Hamas captured over 250 hostages in their unprecedented attack that killed 1,200 people.
- Location :
Jerusalem, Israel
