A senior source in the “resistance,” the term used for terror groups in Gaza led by Hamas, tells Al Jazeera that “the body the enemy claims does not belong to an Israeli is that of a soldier who was captured in a resistance operation.”
The source says the incident took place in May 2024 in the Jabaliya refugee camp, during which an IDF soldier was killed and captured.
At the time, the military swiftly denied Hamas’s claim that it had captured a soldier in Jabalia, saying: “The IDF clarifies that there is no incident of a soldier’s kidnapping.”
The terror group had aired a video showing a bloodied person being dragged along the ground in a tunnel, and published images of military gear and submachine guns, which are not used by the Israeli military.
Palestinian media at the time identified the man in the video as Khalil Dawas, a Palestinian from the West Bank’s Aqabat Jabr camp, near Jericho.
Up until now, Hamas had not directly addressed the fact that one of the four bodies handed over to Israel last night was not that of a hostage.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
