Israeli Military Clears General Who Approved Fire on House With Hostages on Oct. 7

The Israeli military said Thursday that one of its generals had acted properly when he authorized a tank to shell a house in an Israeli village where Hamas fighters were holding hostages, likely killing at least one captive and wounding another, in one of the most debated episodes of the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7.

The Israeli military’s investigation into the massacre in Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities on Oct. 7, marks the beginning of a national reckoning. It is the first of dozens of inquiries set to examine how and why Israel failed to protect its citizens from Hamas’s devastating assault, though critics and some survivors have raised questions about the military’s ability to transparently investigate its own failures.

In a statement summarizing the results of the investigation, the Israeli military conceded that it had “failed in its mission” to protect Be’eri and detailed a series of errors, including disorganization, a lack of coordination between forces and slow response times.

But the inquiry praised the actions of Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, who led the fighting in Be’eri, the military said. The statement said General Hiram’s decision — together with other commanders — to fire the tank shells at the home was “professional and responsible” given the chaotic and challenging battle.

At the beginning of the firefight, Hamas gunmen were holding 14 living hostages in the home in Be’eri. Only two survived; the rest were killed in the firefight, and the inquiry said most of the hostages were probably murdered by their captors.

The episode ignited a fierce debate inside Israel over whether the military had done enough to protect Israeli civilians as it sought to repel Hamas militants who had overrun towns and military bases near Gaza.