“This is not the IDF”: Israel’s chief of staff reorganizes his troops after the death of three hostages

“Wait two seconds.” The Israeli army chief of staff recalibrated his troops on Sunday following the deaths on Friday of three hostages killed “by mistake” by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.

“You see two people with their hands up and no shirts, wait two seconds,” prompted Herzi Halevi in ​​a video broadcast Sunday on X (ex-Twitter). “I want to tell you something equally important: if two Gazans with a white flag come out to surrender, why should we shoot them? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. This is not the IDF,” continued the chief of staff, speaking from the Gaza Strip to soldiers of the Israeli 99th Division.

Three hostages, Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samir Talalka, were killed on Friday after being “mistakenly” identified as a “threat.” However, before they were shot, three men appeared shirtless, holding a white flag and speaking Hebrew.

“The IDF does not shoot at a person with his hands up”

The hostages knew they were “risking getting close to IDF forces” but they sought to “minimize” the risk through precautions, the chief of staff said. “I’m sure (the participating soldiers) are the best because everyone wants to do the right thing, and I’m sure they were convinced that they were doing the right thing,” Herzi Halevi continued. “I’m not talking to you to tell you whether they were right or wrong, but so that we can be right in the future,” he also said.

“Even those who fought and who are now laying down their arms, raising their hands, we stop them, we do not shoot at them,” he insisted. The IDF does not shoot at a person with his hands up. This is strength, not weakness.”

On Friday, the army expressed “deep remorse” over the incident, from which it said it had “learned immediate lessons”. She also announced the start of an investigation. On Sunday, she said she found signs calling for help near the site where three hostages were killed. “The incident is under investigation,” she said.