The Israeli army in December killed three captives in Gaza by mistake and kept this information hidden from the public, local Israeli media said Monday.

The three captives – among the roughly 250 taken by Hamas and other Palestinian groups during the October 7 attack in southern Israel – were killed in an airstrike that allegedly targeted a senior military leader of Hamas in the enclave’s north, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

The Israeli army acknowledged it had killed the three following the Channel 12 report, however rejected that it had attempted a coverup.

In another incident, a December investigation revealed that Israeli soldiers ignored cries for “help” when they stormed a Gaza building holding three hostages just days before killing them by mistake.