JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed in Gaza by their country’s forces were waving a white flag, according to an initial investigation into the incident, a military official said on Saturday.
The incident occurred in a zone of intense fighting where Hamas militants operate in civilian clothes and use deception tactics, the official said.
A soldier saw the hostages appear a few dozen meters from Israeli forces in the Shejaiya area, he said.
“They are all without shirts and have a stick covered with white cloth. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they are terrorists, they (the soldiers) open fire, two are killed immediately,” the military official said.
The third hostage was injured and took refuge in a nearby building where he called for help in Hebrew.
“Immediately, the battalion commander gave a ceasefire order, but a new burst was fired in the direction of the third hostage, who also died,” the military official said. “It was against our rules of engagement.”
On Friday, the army identified the three hostages as Yotam Haim and Alon Shamriz, kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Samer Talalka, kidnapped from neighboring Kibbutz Nir Am, all kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.
(Reporting Maayan Lubell, French version Benjamin Mallet)
©2023 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.