Hostages killed by Israel forces waved white flag
JERUSALEM—The Israeli army said on Saturday that three hostages mistakenly killed by soldiers carried a white flag and cried for help in Hebrew.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep up the military pressure on Hamas after friendly fire killed on Friday captives Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa—all in their 20s—sparking protests in Israel.
Families of other hostages held in Gaza called on the Israeli government to stop fighting and make a deal to secure their release.Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that during fighting in the Shejaiya district of Gaza City, troops “mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat and as a result, fired toward them and the hostages were killed.”
An army official said the hostages were all “without shirts” and had “a stick with a white cloth on it”, but a soldier felt threatened and opened fire.
“Two are killed immediately, one is injured and runs back into the building,” the official said, adding that the soldiers heard “a cry for help … in Hebrew.”
Despite a ceasefire order, “there’s another burst of fire towards the third figure and he also dies.”The official called it a “tragic” event and “very hard day,” but said the troops had faced “intense combat in the area.”
Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv later to call on Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of 129 hostages still held in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Israel has previously said eight other hostages had died.
“We only receive dead bodies. We want you to stop the fight and start negotiations,” Noam Perry, daughter of hostage Haim Perry, said at an event organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
“We feel like we’re in a Russian roulette game,” said Ruby Chen, father of 19-year-old soldier Itai, who is among the captives.“They explained to us first that the ground operation would bring back the abductees,” he said.
“It doesn’t work. Because since then, abductees have been seen returning, but not so much alive. It’s time to change this assumption,” he said.
In November, a one-week truce saw 105 hostages including 80 Israelis freed in exchange for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
The three hostages’ deaths have heightened already fierce scrutiny of how Israel is conducting its assault in Gaza.The White House, which provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, has voiced growing concern over civilian deaths.
“I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives—not stop going after Hamas, but be more careful,” US President Joe Biden said this week. —AFP
