He noted that the military pressure applied by Israel "since January is not enough. The state itself admitted this when it submitted an affidavit to the High Court," Ofer said.
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A rescue team from the Kedem Battalion of the Home Front Command joined the troops that were on the ground, carrying out precise operations.
"We're in touch with our Israeli counterparts to get more information on what happened," Press Secretary Karrine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday.
Until now, campaigns on social media have been calling for Rida's release from prison and accused Israel of kidnapping the journalist.
Warrant Officer (res.) Daniel Alloush, 37, from Tel Aviv and Warr. Ofc. (res.) Tom Ish-Shalom, 38, from Ness Harim were named as the soldiers killed in the crash.
The commander of Hamas’s Tel Al-Sultan Battalion, Mahmoud Hamdan, and three additional company commanders from the battalion were reportedly killed.
"We failed as a country; we failed as a community," Dickmann said.