Jerusalem, Sep 16 : The Israeli military has said that three hostages, found dead in a Gaza tunnel months ago, were "in a high probability" mistakenly killed by the military during a November operation targeting a senior Hamas commander.

The military's statement on Sunday, announcing the completion of an investigation into the deaths of Corporal Nik Beizer, Sergeant Ron Sherman, and Elia Toledano, concluded that the three were likely killed in an Israeli airstrike aimed at assassinating Hamas Northern Brigade commander Ahmed Ghandour on November 10, 2023.

The findings were based on the location of the bodies relative to the strike's impact, performance analysis of the airstrike, intelligence findings, pathological reports, and conclusions from the Israeli Forensic Medicine Institute, Xinhua news agency reported.

The three hostages were believed to have been held in the tunnel complex used by Ghandour.

"At the time of the strike, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) did not have information about the presence of hostages in the targeted compound," the military said.

"Furthermore, there was information suggesting that they were located elsewhere, and thus the area was not designated as one with suspected presence of hostages."

The military emphasised that, since the war began on October 7, 2023, it has avoided striking areas suspected of containing hostages.

"The IDF operates a mechanism through the Headquarters of the Hostages and Missing Persons in the Intelligence Directorate, aimed at ensuring that offensive actions do not harm hostages wherever possible, and invests significant efforts in gathering information about the hostages," the military added.

The findings are expected to further intensify nationwide protests demanding the release of nearly 101 individuals still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Families of the hostages are calling for a ceasefire agreement that would secure their release.

The IDF said this month that it found the bodies of six hostages killed by Hamas and returned them to Israel.

An estimated 250 people were abducted and were hostage in the Gaza Strip. More than 100 were released during a short-lived cease-fire agreement at the end of November before the deal to pause hostilities fell apart.

Since then, some hostages were either rescued or found dead by the military.

/IANS