Tel Aviv: Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops, in a case of ‘mistaken identity’, killed three Israeli hostages in northern Gaza’s Shejaiya neighbourhood on Friday.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a statement on Friday night said that the incident occurred in the morning and the military bears full responsibility for the “tragic incident”, which happened “in an area where the soldiers encountered many terrorists, including suicide bombers”.
“We believe that the three Israelis either escaped or were abandoned by terrorists who held them captive. We still don’t know these details,” said Daniel Hagari.
The hostages, who died after troops fired at them, were identified as Yohan Haim who was abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Samar Fouad Talalka — abducted from Nir Am and Alon Shamriz, also from Kfar Aza. Hagari said that the incident occurred in the Gaza neighbourhood that has seen some of the heaviest fighting in recent days.
“During combat in Shejaiya (a battleground neighbourhood of Gaza City), the IDF (army) mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed,” the Israel army said in a statement.
Expressing “deep remorse over the tragic incident”, the army stated that immediate lessons from the event were learned, “which have been passed on to all IDF troops in the field.”
Calling the hostage deaths an “unbearable tragedy”, the Israel Prime Minister issued a statement. “Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the fall of three of our dear sons,” he stated.
The war began after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
To overthrow Hamas and free the roughly 250 captives kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza, Israel initiated a massive onslaught that destroyed most of the beleaguered region.
According to the Hamas administration, at least 18,800 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have died in the conflict.
