Israel says Palestinian fatalities included numerous Hamas terrorists who, unknown to the hostages' rescuers, were using the apartment as a base

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When teams of undercover Israeli commandos stormed two apartments simultaneously in Nuseirat, in the Gaza Strip, on June 8, they were unaware of one crucial factor.

At one location, three male Israeli hostages were being held in a small room. There was no light and the door was locked at all times. There were also many heavily armed Hamas terrorists on site, apparently using the apartment as a base. That critical information was not known in advance by the commandos.

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When the Israeli special forces entered the apartment they were ambushed by the terrorists. Within seconds, swarms of additional Hamas combatants appeared, either from adjacent apartments or from tunnels below, or both. They converged on the hostage apartment with Kalashnikovs, RPGs and other smaller weapons, like grenades.

A fierce battle ensued. In order to provide cover for the commandos and hostages, the Israeli Air Force attacked nearby targets, collaborating with additional troops to create a “safe zone” and allowing them to make it to the waiting escape helicopters. This is what happens in war when a counterattack is mounted. Hamas understood that. And yet, they chose to embed in a civilian neighbourhood. And rather than stand down and allow the hostages to be rescued, their priority was to kill. They didn’t much care who — as long as it prevented the Israelis from escaping. (The operation at the second location, where a female Israeli hostage was imprisoned, went smoothly.)

The Gaza Health Ministry — a Hamas-run government department that has been known to be creative with its numbers — almost immediately announced that 214 civilians had been killed in the commando raid. (Even UNRWA — which has........

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