- IDF report reveals ‘grave mistake’ by soldiers who killed hostages after being mistakenly identified as a threat
- Hundreds turned out in Tel Aviv to protest after the news broke last night
Further detail released by the IDF on the killing of three Israeli hostages show it was a “very tragic incident” and “grave mistake.”
The three Israeli hostages mistaken for Palestinian Hamas fighters include Yotam Haim, Samer al Talalka and Alon Shamriz.
Israeli soldiers opened fire on the men in the belief that they were terrorists, according to an IDF official, who said they were shirtless and at least one was holding a makeshift white flag in surrender.
An Israeli military official confirmed that an initial inquiry into the incident has found the hostages were fired upon against Israel’s rules of engagement.
An Israeli soldier saw the hostages – who had either “been abandoned or escaped” – emerge near forces in the Shejaiya area of northern Gaza, he said.
“They’re all without shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth on it. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they’re terrorists, they [forces] open fire, two are killed immediately,” said the official.
The third hostage was wounded and fled to a nearby building where he shouted for help in Hebrew, he added.
Despite demands for a ceasefire from the battalion commander, there was “another burst of fire” towards the third man, who was killed, the official said.
The hostages were killed hundreds of metres from a building marked with writing reading “SOS”, he said, adding that the military would investigate any connection.
The IDF said yesterday that the victims – all Israeli men in their 20s – were killed during combat with Hamas militants.
They had wrongly been identified as a threat, the military said previously.
Sky News Middle East Correspondent Allstair Bunkali explains that the Israeli military has said “in wider context” about the ground operation that it had not seen Palestinian civilians in the area for “a number of days”.
The IDF said it had instead “witnessed Hamas fighters dressed in civilian clothing”, he says.
“That seems to be how the IDF is explaining this misunderstanding that these three hostages were mistaken for being Hamas fighters.
“Nevertheless, they say what happened was against protocols. Clearly it was a very grave mistake that led to the three deaths of Israeli hostages.”
With additional reports from Sky News