Israel has been threatening the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip with the killing of their families unless they agree to be assassinated alone, a report says.
The Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, citing sources, reported Sunday that the tactic involves Israeli officers telephoning Palestinian fighters and threatening to kill their relatives unless they leave their shelters and expose themselves to targeted strikes.
“They received a call from the occupation giving them a choice between being bombed along with their families or being killed alone,” the sources familiar with the incidents said.
In the latest reported case, an Israeli drone killed Mohammed al-Bayouk on October 28 in central Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
His relatives said that shortly before the attack, he received a telephone call from an officer of Israel’s Shin Bet internal spy agency, who threatened to bomb his family if he remained with them. He was told to go to the rooftop of their shelter if he wanted to spare his relatives.
Bayouk chose to leave the shelter to protect his family and was subsequently killed by a small missile fired from an Israeli drone.
One of his aunts sustained serious injuries while desperately attempting to stop him from leaving the family’s room.
Relatives of other Palestinians killed in similar operations said Israeli drones had targeted individuals walking alone along streets or standing on the rooftops of homes, residential buildings and displacement shelters.
Sources said Israel had carried out at least five such killings in Gaza over the past three months.
Similar tactics have reportedly been employed in Lebanon.
The sources also said Israel uses threats against relatives during the interrogation of Palestinian detainees, seeking to pressure prisoners into providing security information.
In some cases, detainees were shown photographs of their children and other family members after they had been killed as a means of intensifying psychological pressure.
Israel has increasingly relied on smaller munitions launched from drones to carry out targeted assassinations.
A September report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz attributed the shift partly to US pressure to reduce civilian casualties and Israel’s efforts to preserve larger bombs for potential attacks on Iran and Lebanon.
According to Haaretz, the reported ratio had recently fallen to approximately 0.6 civilians killed for every Resistance fighter killed.
Nevertheless, Israeli attacks continue to claim civilian lives, including those of women and children.
While smaller drone-fired munitions are reportedly being used against some lower-level Palestinian figures, senior resistance leaders and field commanders continue to be targeted with multiple missiles and explosive-laden drones, sometimes while surrounded by their families.
The reported practices raise grave concerns over the use of threats against family members, the safety of civilians and the methods employed in the ongoing Israeli genocidal war on Gaza.
A UN Commission of Inquiry report published on October 26 concluded that Israel continued committing genocidal acts in Gaza after the ceasefire, citing continued attacks and the expansion of its control over the territory.
At least 74,570 Palestinians have been killed and 175,808 injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its campaign of genocide.
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