Israel and Hamas are negotiating a new agreement to end fighting in Gaza
Three people who were kidnapped in Israeli territory on October 7th and taken to the Gaza Strip by the terrorist group Hamas were killed on December 15th by soldiers from their own country. The soldiers thought the three hostages' cries for help were a Hamas trap.
The military did not blame the soldiers who killed hostages from their own country. The Israeli Defense Forces released a conclusion on the case on Thursday (28), saying that the men acted in the best possible way given their understanding of the situation.
The military immediately took blame for the deaths of the three hostages.
Israeli soldiers exchanged fire with Palestinians inside buildings in an area of Gaza City. The three hostages approached the soldiers, who believed that there were no kidnapped Israelis in the area, as Israeli intelligence services claimed.
The hostages had taken off their shirts and one of them was waving a white flag. The soldiers thought the cries for help were part of a tactic to lure the troops into a trap and fired.
The three were only identified as hostages when the bodies were examined.
1 of 1 Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Portal Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Portal
Pressure on the government to negotiate with Hamas
The Israeli government is under pressure to negotiate with Hamas to release the hostages still under the terror group's control. There are still more than 100 kidnapped people in the Gaza Strip.
In November, Hamas released 110 people in negotiations in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.