Israeli army admits killing settler near Gaza Strip on Oct. 7

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army acknowledged Friday that it killed a settler by fire from one of its helicopters in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7.

''According to the investigation, amid battles that took place in southern Israel on October 7, an IAF helicopter opened fire against a car with several terrorists in it,'' the Times of Israeli newspaper cited a military statement.

''It was later revealed, based on eyewitnesses and surveillance camera footage, that the vehicle also had Israeli hostages in it,'' said the newspaper.

''As a result of the shooting, most of the terrorists in the vehicle were killed, and apparently the late Efrat Katz.''

The findings were shared with Katz’s family on Friday, according to the statement.

The military said the probe found that its surveillance systems could not distinguish Israeli hostages from Hamas terrorists in moving vehicles, and therefore the shooting was ''defined as shooting at a vehicle with terrorists.''

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack in early October by the Palestinian group, Hamas, killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 33,000 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,750 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio​​​​​​​ in Istanbul