Hostages killed by mistake in Gaza: Soldiers reportedly heard their cries for help but thought it was a trap

It seems that this incredible drama has accumulated errors. Israeli soldiers were in the same building as three hostages mistakenly shot dead in the Gaza Strip and heard them screaming for help in Hebrew five days before the incident, according to an army investigation released Thursday. On December 10, while storming the building, the soldiers heard these cries of “hostages” and “help!” ” shouted in Hebrew. But they believed it was a ploy by Hamas militants who had set a trap for them in the building, located in Chojaya, in eastern Gaza City.

Deciding that this building was filled with explosives, the soldiers got out. Five Hamas militants guarding the hostages were then killed by Israeli helicopter fire as they tried to leave the building, an investigation has found. The hostages then “probably” left the building, according to investigators.

Five days later, Israeli soldiers shot them, “recognizing them as a threat.” Two were killed instantly. The third fled, and according to investigators, the soldiers were then ordered not to shoot in order to identify him. The battalion commander, hearing shouts in Hebrew: “Help!” and “They’re shooting at me!” “, asked the surviving hostage to approach them, ordering his soldiers not to shoot. But two soldiers, “who did not hear the order due to the noise of a nearby tank,” shot him dead. The three hostages were shirtless and waving a white flag.

The day before the incident, December 14, an army drone recorded the words “SOS” and “Help, three hostages” on a building 200 meters from the place where three hostages died.

129 hostages still held in Gaza

“The army failed in its mission to rescue the hostages,” Israeli army chief of staff General Herzi Halevi said in a statement. The shooting of the three hostages “could have been avoided,” he added. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he regretted the “unbearable tragedy” that plunged “the entire State of Israel into mourning.”

The victims were Yotam Haim, a 28-year-old heavy metal drummer, and Samer al-Talalqa, a 25-year-old Bedouin, both abducted from Kibbutz Nir Am during a deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7. The third hostage killed was 26-year-old Alon Lulu Shamriz, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

About 250 people were taken hostage during the Hamas attack. According to Israeli authorities, 129 people are still being held in the Gaza Strip today.