The Israeli army says it is investigating the deaths of three hostages whom soldiers mistakenly identified as a threat.
Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz, and Samer El-Talalqa, all in their twenties, were shot during operations in Gaza City, according to the military.
The casualties were among the about 250 hostages abducted during the October 7 strikes in Israel by Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,140 persons.
With the promise of eliminating Hamas and rescuing the captives, Israel initiated a massive military campaign against the Palestinian Islamist movement, destroying a large portion of the Gaza Strip. According to the health ministry of the Hamas-run region, at least 18,800 people have died in the conflict, the majority of whom were women and children.
According to Army spokesman Daniel Hagari, forces “mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat and, as a result, fired toward them and the hostages were killed” during fighting in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighbourhood.
However, Naija News reports that the incident sparked outrage among Israeli citizens, resulting in a protest in Tel Aviv.
Later, the military announced that it had begun “reviewing the incident” and that all troops on the ground had received “immediate lessons from the event.”
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called their deaths a “unbearable tragedy.”
A few hours later, hundreds of protesters assembled in front of Tel Aviv’s Defense Ministry to demand that Netanyahu’s administration ensure the release of the 129 hostages that are now being held in the Gaza Strip, which is administered by Hamas.
Over 100 hostages were released during a one-week truce in November in exchange for Palestinians detained in Israeli jails; however, fighting has since resumed.
The deaths of the captives have intensified the already intense scrutiny surrounding Israel’s ground and aerial assault in Gaza.
The White House has expressed increasing worry about the rising number of civilian deaths, even as it gives Israel military aid worth billions of dollars.
