The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Thursday published its final findings of the investigation into the three hostages it mistakenly killed while fighting Hamas militants in Gaza, saying that the troops mistook the captives' cries for help as a lure for an ambush, according to The Times of Israel. The probe said that troops did not have "sufficient awareness" of the possibility that they would encounter Hamas-held hostages during their ground operations.
Earlier this month, the IDF mistakenly identified three hostages as a threat and opened fire at them in northern Gaza's Shejaiya neighbourhood. The military took full responsibility for their deaths "in an area where the soldiers encountered many terrorists, including suicide bombers". The hostages were identified as Yotam Haim, Samar Fouad Talalka and Alon Lulu Shamriz.
The probe conducted by Yaron Finkelman, head of Israeli's Southern Command, said that a soldier of the Bislamach Brigade’s 17th Battalion opened fire at three figures he had wrongly identified as a threat, killing two, while the third fled to a nearby building. While troops temporarily halted firing, the third hostage, later identified as Haim, came out of the building.
However, two soldiers could not hear the commander's order due to noise from a nearby tank, shot and killed the hostage. Based on analysis and aerial footage, the IDF said that the trio were shirtless and one was waving a makeshift white flag as they initially approached the forces.
Before the incident, IDF troops found a note next to a tunnel shaft in Shejaiya, reading “Help” in Hebrew besides an identity card belonging to a Hamas operative. Troops assessed it as an attempt by Hamas to lure them into an ambush as there was no information linking it to the presence of hostages in the Shejaiya area. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the three hostages were held in the tunnel.
'IDF failed in its mission'
The probe said that some of the forces heard the cries of help by the hostages but suspected it was an attempt by the terrorists to draw the Israeli forces inside the building to harm them, something that had occurred in the past.
On December 14, a day before the deadly shooting, signs written in Hebrew reading “SOS” and “Help, 3 hostages” were identified in drone footage on the side of a building around 200 metres from where the incident took place.
“IDF soldiers involved in the incident had experienced complex combat situations in the days preceding the incident and were in a state of high alert for a threat. During the battles, they encountered deceptions by the enemy and attempts to draw them into shafts and buildings rigged with explosives,” the probe concluded.
"The IDF failed in its mission to rescue the hostages in this event. The entire chain of command feels responsible for this grave event, regrets this outcome and shares in the grief of the families of the three hostages." said IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in a statement.
Halevi also instructed all commanders to review the probe and raise awareness for hostages among forces, including possible locations, their photographs and other various findings about them.
What did Netanyahu say?
Reacting to the tragic development on December 15, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an "unbearable tragedy" and expressed his condolences to the families of the three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by the IDF troops in Gaza.
"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. I strengthen our courageous soldiers engaged in the sacred mission of bringing home our hostages, while risking their lives in doing so," he said on X.
The 28-year-old Haim was a drummer for the heavy metal band Persephore. He was last seen in a video he took on the morning of October 7, showing himself in the front door of his Kfar Aza home, before he was kidnapped by Hamas militants.
Talalka, 22, was working in the Kibbutz Nir Am hatchery on October 7 when the attack occurred. Shamriz, 26, a computer engineering student, was abducted from his Kibbutz Kfar Aza home on October 7.
Shejaiya in northern Gaza has long been seen as a key Hamas stronghold, home to some of its most elite forces and heaviest fortifications. It lies close to the area where nine Israeli soldiers, including two senior commanders, were killed in a deadly battle with militants.
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