Israeli soldiers mistakenly killed three hostages kidnapped by the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday. During a battle in the Hamas stronghold of Shejaiya, the three hostages were “inadvertently seen as a threat,” which is why soldiers shot at and killed them, the army said Friday night on X (formerly Twitter). An investigation was launched immediately.
The bodies were brought to Israel and identified there. “The Army deeply regrets the tragic incident and conveys its deepest condolences to the families,” the Army statement continued. “Our national task is to track down the missing people and bring all the hostages home.”
According to media reports, hundreds of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest. Footage broadcast on Israeli television showed large crowds gathering in the center of the coastal metropolis on Friday night and blocking a main road. They called on the government to work for the immediate release of the hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Carrying posters, banners and posters with the names and photos of many other hostages, the protesters marched towards the Israeli army headquarters. As the news website ynet reported, they threw red paint on the street. “Her time is running out! Bring her home now,” people shouted. They criticize that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is not doing enough to free hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. With a new hostage agreement like the one in place at the end of November, they say, incidents like Friday's in Gaza could be avoided.
Netanyahu called the death of the three hostages an “unbearable tragedy.” “The entire State of Israel is in mourning tonight. My heart goes out to the bereaved families in their difficult moments of grief,” the head of the Israeli government wrote on social media on Friday night. He expressed his condolences to the families. “Even on this difficult night, we will tend to our wounds, learn our lessons and continue with maximum effort to bring all our hostages home safely,” he said.
The Israeli government has been under enormous internal political pressure for weeks from relatives of those kidnapped, who are demanding an end to military action. With the mediation of the Emirate of Qatar, several dozen hostages were released at the end of November in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Among them were the wife and children of Tal Shoham, with dual Israeli-Austrian citizenship, who is apparently still under the control of the terrorists. After an agreement to extend the agreement failed, Israel resumed military action to destroy the terrorist organization Hamas.
Two of the dead hostages were identified as Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka. The name of the third person killed was not released at the family's request. The incident occurred in an “active combat area,” the army said. The first lessons have already been learned from the incident and have been passed on to troops operating in the Gaza Strip.
The US government described the deaths of the three hostages as “painful” and “tragic”. “Clearly this is not an outcome anyone wanted,” National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby said Friday. He assumes the Israelis will look closely at the incident to find out how it happened. However, the case is not suitable for making a general judgment about whether the Israeli military is capable of acting precisely in the Gaza Strip, Kirby said.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera news channel reported that one of its cameramen was killed in the southern Gaza Strip. Video journalist Samer Abu Dakka was injured along with a colleague while reporting on the bombing of a school, the broadcaster announced on Friday night. However, the rescue team was unable to reach him in time to treat him. They just managed to recover his body. The journalists were hit by a rocket fired from a drone in the town of Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israel continued its military offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday despite international calls for restraint. Clouds of smoke rose in the north of the area, and in Khan Younis, in the south, there were “dozens of people killed and injured”, according to the Ministry of Health, which is controlled by the Islamist Hamas. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said troops were involved in fighting with militants in two districts of Gaza City on Thursday night. There will be “even tougher battles” in the coming days.
At the same time, Israel appeared to be trying to counter international criticism of its actions through a humanitarian aid operation. Prime Minister Netanyahu's office announced on Friday that the Kerem Shalom border crossing had been opened for aid deliveries. This means the country is fulfilling the obligation agreed in the hostage agreement to allow 200 trucks with relief supplies to be sent every day to the densely populated coastal strip. Until now, relief supplies had only reached the area via the Egyptian border crossing at Rafah.
According to its own account, the Israeli army destroyed the command and control center of an important Hamas battalion. Soldiers also killed terrorists during the operation in the Hamas stronghold of Shejaiya, the military announced on Friday. A tunnel complex was also destroyed. According to a spokesman, the Israeli army is now using explosives to kill Hamas terrorists in tunnels under the Gaza Strip. “We have new combat methods that we will use to kill terrorists
The war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, which terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out in Israel on October 7th. More than 1,200 people were killed and around 240 hostages were taken to Gaza. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and began a ground offensive in late October. According to Hamas reports, around 18,000 people have been killed in attacks in the Gaza Strip so far.