Israeli troops accidentally shot and killed three Israeli hostages during a battle with Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, the Israeli military said. The shooting occurred in Shejaiye, a densely populated community that Israeli officials have identified as a Hamas stronghold.
Israel Defense Forces “misidentified three Israeli hostages as a threat,” the military said in a statement. “As a result, the troops fired on them and they were killed.”
“During searches and checks in the area where the incident occurred, suspicions emerged regarding the identity of the deceased,” it said. “Their bodies were taken to Israeli territory for examination, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages.”
The military identified the three as Yotam Haim and Alon Shamriz, who were abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7; and Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Am.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military's chief spokesman, expressed “deep sadness” and said the military was investigating.
The incident occurred “in a combat zone where troops have been fighting terrorists in recent days, including on Friday,” Israeli authorities said.
Soldiers encountered terrorists without weapons, the military said, and were involved in situations “in which terrorists attempted to deceive our troops and lure them into a fire trap,” according to Admiral Hagari.
“Shortly after the tragic incident,” Admiral Hagari said, a second battle occurred “with terrorists in the vicinity of the incident.”
He promised “complete transparency” and said troops would be given “lessons” on identifying hostages in the Gaza Strip to prevent such mistakes.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents those kidnapped on October 7 and their relatives, issued a statement Friday evening saying it shared the families' “deep sadness.”
Mr. Talalka was working at a chicken hatchery near Kibbutz Nir Am on October 7 when he was kidnapped. According to the group's spokeswoman, Liat Bell Sommer, he had spoken to his sister on the phone and told her that he had been injured by gunfire from terrorists before the conversation was interrupted. He was “an avid motorcyclist who loved riding through the countryside,” she said.
Mr. Talalka came from Hura, an Arab Bedouin town in southern Israel. He was one of several Bedouin hostages, members of an inconspicuous Israeli minority. At least 17 of the approximately 1,200 people killed in the October 7 attack were Bedouin.
Mr. Haim was a drummer who was scheduled to perform at a “metal music festival” in Tel Aviv on Oct. 7, Ms. Sommer said.
Mr. Shamriz was a “life lover” and basketball player and fan who had been accepted to college and was about to begin studying computer engineering, Ms. Sommer said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement calling the killings “an unbearable tragedy” and expressing sympathy for the families of the hostages and support for the Israeli soldiers “dedicated to the sacred mission of “even to return our hostages” at the cost of their lives.”
“Even on this difficult evening,” the statement said, “we will bind up our wounds, learn the lessons and continue to work with all our might to bring all of our hostages home safely.”
Families of hostages have pressured Mr Netanyahu to prioritize prisoners and pay “any price” for their release. Some marched from Tel Aviv to his office in Jerusalem last month to protest his handling of the situation, and protests outside his office continued.
Hundreds of people protested in Tel Aviv on Friday to demand the return of the hostages. Photo credit: Violeta Santos Moura/Portal
On Friday evening, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Tel Aviv to demand an agreement for the immediate return of all hostages.
Government officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, argued in comments this week that intense fighting in Gaza would create the conditions for the hostages' release. But opposition from those who disagree is bound to intensify after Israel admitted it mistakenly killed hostages.
Hostages released under deals with Hamas have thanked protesters for keeping up pressure on the Israeli government.
Mr Netanyahu is also under pressure from one of Israel's strongest allies, the United States, to take more surgical action and end his ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. American officials have also called on the Israeli government to resume indirect negotiations with Hamas that led to a week-long halt in fighting last month, the release of more than 100 hostages and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.