Military Police probe IDF soldier’s killing of Palestinian detainee in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces’ Military Police has launched an investigation into the killing of a Palestinian detainee in the Gaza Strip, allegedly by a soldier who was supposed to be guarding him, the army said Monday.

The terror suspect was arrested alive on Sunday night, and after being questioned by field interrogators of the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504, he was handed over to another soldier to be guarded.

The IDF said that at a certain point, the soldier guarding the suspect allegedly opened fire and killed him.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, the soldier claimed he had felt in danger after the terror suspect allegedly attacked him, and thus opened fire.

“Following the initial information that was provided, an investigation was opened by the Military Police regarding the circumstances of the shooting,” the IDF said.

The suspect was arrested as part of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which was sparked after thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded the south of the country on October 7, rampaging through communities and killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking another estimated 240 people hostage.

So far since the beginning of the ground offensive, more than 700 terror operatives have been captured and brought to Israel for interrogation, the IDF said.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has claimed that since the start of the war, more than 22,000 people have been killed, mostly civilians. However, these figures cannot be independently verified and are believed to include some 8,500 Hamas fighters, as well as civilians killed by misfired Palestinian rockets. Another estimated 1,000 terrorists were killed in Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.