Friendly fire may have killed their relatives on Oct. 7. These Israeli families want answers now

Relatives of civilians killed at a kibbutz in southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas are demanding the military immediately investigate signs that some may have been killed by Israeli security forces as they battled militants holding hostages

KIBBUTZ BE'ERI, Israel -- Relatives of civilians killed at a kibbutz in southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas are demanding the military immediately investigate signs that some may have been killed by Israeli security forces as they battled militants holding hostages.

The military has said it will conduct a thorough investigation of everything that went wrong on Oct. 7 and the days that followed once its war on Hamas is over.

But that's not soon enough for some family members of 13 people killed during a violent standoff between Hamas and Israeli security forces at Kibbutz Be'eri, along the Gaza border. They fear valuable evidence could be lost as the war — now in its fourth month — drags on with no end in sight.

Representatives of eight bereaved families delivered a two-page letter to the army chief of staff and other officials late last week, demanding an immediate probe and a public release of the findings.

“In light of the seriousness of the incident, we do not think it is right to wait to investigate the incident until the end of the war, when it is not clear when it will end,” the letter said. It prodded the military to “start it immediately, when the memory is fresh for all those involved.”