The Jewish state is waking up in pain after the deaths of three hostages mistakenly killed by the Israeli army on Friday. Three men detained by Hamas were killed by Israeli fire during fighting in Chojaya, in the northern Gaza Strip. An incident that revives fears for the families of the hostages who still have not received news of their loved ones.
What’s happened ?
Continuing its operations in northern Gaza, the Israeli army on Friday killed three Israeli hostages “initially identified” as a “threat”, she explained. According to The Times of Israel, the operation took place in Chojaya in the northern Gaza Strip, a city long considered a key Hamas stronghold. “The army mistakenly considered the three Israeli hostages a threat. As a result, the soldiers opened fire in their direction and they were killed,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari admitted on television on Friday.
Very quickly, “suspicions arose regarding the identity of the identified people” after checks and searches were carried out in the area, the army explained. Their bodies were transported to Israeli territory – to the Shura camp – for examination, which confirmed that these were indeed three Israeli hostages. “Israeli forces are in free pictures, in other words, they have almost no restrictions in carrying out their activities. Soldiers today can shoot wherever they want if they sense any danger, which leads to collateral damage,” notes Guillaume Ancel, a former French army officer.
Questions remain about the presence of hostages in the region. The army says it does not know whether the three Israelis managed to escape from Hamas or whether their captors abandoned them to their fate. Expressing “deep remorse,” the command said it had “immediately learned lessons” from the incident, adding that it had launched an investigation.
Who are the victims?
The three hostages, all Israeli men, were under thirty years of age. The three were among about 250 people taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Among them is 28-year-old Yotam Haim, kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the border with the Gaza Strip. The young man played drums in a heavy metal band. Another victim, Alon Shamriz, was captured in his home in Kibbutz Kfar Gaza. The 26-year-old guy studied at the computer department.
Samir Talalka was the last hostage to die on Friday. He was working at Kibbutz Nir Am when he was captured by Palestinian Islamist movements. Samir, 22, was a Bedouin from the Negev, an Arabic-speaking people living in Israel. His father, Fouad, told Le Parisien of the confusion and anxiety that ate him and his wife after their son was kidnapped. “My wife sleeps very poorly. At night she wakes up and screams our son’s name. Our life is a nightmare,” he described.
What do the first elements of the investigation say?
As soon as the army’s announcement was made, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he regretted the “unbearable tragedy” that had plunged “the entire State of Israel into mourning.” The first details of the investigation were made public this Saturday: it was reported that the slain hostages were waving a white flag and speaking Hebrew before they were shot.
Three men appeared “several tens of meters from one of our positions,” a military official told reporters. “One of the soldiers saw them when they appeared. They don’t wear T-shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth. The soldier felt threatened and shoots, he declares that they are terrorists. Two (hostages) were killed,” the source added. “Immediately another one is wounded and breaks into the building.” The soldiers then “heard a cry for help in Hebrew.”
“The third person is fired again and he is killed,” the same source continued, adding that the incident went “against the rules of engagement.” “There is something brutally symbolic about this incident: Netanyahu defending his offensive at all costs when his men, lost on the ground, end up shooting everyone and killing the hostages they were supposed to rescue,” laments the “former military man.”
What consequences?
According to Guillaume Ansel, “these deaths are only a sad consequence of the destructive operation carried out by the IDF and decided by the Israeli authorities.” “Either the army is waging a brutal offensive or focusing on freeing the hostages, but it is impossible that it can do both, contrary to Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims.” The writer casually recalls that “the only opportunity to free the hostages appeared only during the truce.”
Even before these three deaths were announced, the army had previously announced that it had found the bodies of three hostages, including the French-Israeli Eli Toledano. Other casualties should be announced in the coming days, the former officer said. “Given the severity of this offensive, the Israeli government obviously knows that other captives were killed. But the authorities do not have the courage to tell the families that the operation they are carrying out is incompatible with the search for hostages,” continues Guillaume Ancel, now preferring to talk about “missing people” – since there are no signs of life. given to relatives, not hostages.
Source: Le Parisien
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
