The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages who were holding up a white flag in Gaza on Friday. The names of the hostages are Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz.
The IDF announcement states that after the incident occurred, the bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination. The examination confirmed that the bodies were Israeli hostages. Hamas kidnapped all three hostages during its attack on October 7, and they either escaped or were abandoned. The IDF said:
The IDF emphasizes that this is an active combat zone in which ongoing fighting over the last few days has occurred. Immediate lessons from the event have been learned, which have been passed on to all IDF troops in the field. The IDF expresses deep remorse over the tragic incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences. Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi took responsibility for the accidental killing, stating, “the IDF, and I as its commander, are responsible for what happened, and we will do everything to prevent the recurrence of such cases in the continuation of the fighting.” Additionally Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “This is an unbearable tragedy and all of Israel is grieving their loss this evening. My heart goes out to the bereaved families at this difficult time.”
Protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv after the news broke, outraged at Netanyahu and his government. They were joined by released hostages and families of those still captive in Gaza. Raz Ben Ami, who was released as part of a deal with Hamas, told the crowd that military operations in Gaza put hostages at risk and that she had “warned” the government of this. Others, like Ruby Chen, whose 19-year-old son Itay Chen is still captive, urged the government to “be active” in securing a deal with Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Other critics say that the shootings reflect a reckless attitude towards civilians in Gaza.
The current Israel-Hamas war began on October 7 when Hamas initiated several attacks on Israel that killed more 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Shortly after the attacks, Israel declared war on Hamas and began heavily bombing the Gaza Strip. Both Israel and Hamas have been accused of multiple war crimes throughout the conflict. A deal was reached between Israel and Hamas in late November for a humanitarian pause, which was later extended but has since ended. The Gaza Health Ministry says that the death toll in Gaza has reached 19,088, again mostly civilians. Last week, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
