(Dan Tri) – The Israeli army mistakenly identified three hostages that Hamas was holding as threats and attacked them, killing them.
An Israeli army tank (Photo: Reuters).
An Israeli military spokesman on December 15 admitted that the country mistakenly attacked three hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, killing them.
The Israeli military expressed condolences to the families of the hostages and pledged that the investigation into the incident would be `completely transparent`.
An Israeli military statement said that during the intense battle in Gaza, they mistakenly identified `three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, Israeli soldiers opened fire and they were killed.`
The military named the dead hostages as Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz.
`The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began reviewing the incident immediately. Lessons have been learned and communicated to all IDF soldiers on the battlefield,` the statement read.
The Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, which represents the hostages’ families, expressed condolences and confirmed the names of the three hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: `Along with all Israelis, I am deeply saddened and mourned by the loss of life of the three people kidnapped by (Hamas). My heart goes out to the families.`
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari affirmed that this unit `is responsible for everything that happened`.
In recent days, Israel has fought fiercely with members of Hamas and suffered a number of soldier losses.
According to Gaza health authorities, nearly 19,000 Palestinians have died since Israel launched air and ground attacks on Gaza after the October 7 incident, the majority of whom were civilians.
During a week-long truce in late November, Hamas released more than 100 women, children and foreigners it was holding in Gaza in exchange for Israel’s release of 240 women and teenagers.
According to Reuters, Hamas still holds 100 hostages in Gaza.
Thousands of people protested outside Israel’s central military base in Tel Aviv with banners reading `we demand a deal now!`
Previously, the Israeli government had repeatedly stated that freeing all hostages was one of its main goals when conducting the military campaign in Gaza.
