1 of 1 Israeli army spokesman during a statement in which he said soldiers accidentally killed three hostages. — Photo: Reproduction Israeli army spokesman during a statement in which he said soldiers accidentally killed three hostages. — Photo: Reproduction
The Israeli army said on Friday (15) that its troops mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
“During the fighting in Shejaiya, an Israel Defense Forces force mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. The troops then fired on them and they were killed,” an army spokesman said in a statement.
The hostages were killed during an operation by Israeli troops in Shejaiya, a district of Gaza Cityin the north of the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli army had not revealed where exactly the hostages were when they were shot by the soldiers as of the last update of this report most of the hostages are reportedly in tunnels used by the terrorist group.
Two of the three dead hostages have been identified. According to the Israeli government, both are Israeli citizens and were kidnapped by the terrorist group on October 7th:
- Israeli Yotam Haim was kidnapped in Kfar Gaza kibbutz;
- Samer Talalka, kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Am;
According to Israel, the name of the third dead hostage was not revealed at the request of the family. The bodies were taken by soldiers to Israeli territory, where they were identified.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces called the case an “incident” and said it expressed “deep regret” but said it would continue to search for the hostages still in Hamas's hands.
This report will be updated.