I'd be really amazed if that isn't just your usual "another thing we don't understand a thing about" translation by the media. The Israelis aren't stupid.
What could have happened is that they indeed used a sling to hoist him up(a loop that goes around you and under your arms) and the guy somehow wiggled himself out of it. Remember that he was injured, so he probably wasn't even close to full strength. Sad event indeed. As you can see he's lifting his arms up on the video, which might easily make him slip out of the loop.
Here's a picture of the sort of setup they probably used:
