The IDF has acknowledged that its forces mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip on Friday, during ground operations in the Shijaiyah region of Gaza City.
This incident occurred as part of a wider counter-offensive being conducted by the IDF against Hamas, which is currently holding more than one hundred hostages in Gaza, including Israelis, foreign nationals, and American citizens.
“The IDF expresses deep remorse over the tragic incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences,” IDF said on Friday. “Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home.”
Israeli troops mistakenly assessed the hostages as a threat and subsequently shot them, according to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Hagari stated that the hostages were located in an active combat zone, making it unclear if they had escaped Hamas or been abandoned, as reported by The Associated Press.
An investigation into the accident was promptly initiated, according to the IDF. Two of the hostages were identified as Israeli citizens Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka, while the third was also Israeli but their identity has been withheld at the request of their family.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are conducting ground operations across the Gaza Strip, with particular focus on the southern region, where the majority of Hamas forces are believed to be concentrated.
As part of these operations, they are engaging in efforts to demolish a 300-mile underground tunnel network that serves as a hub for Hamas’ activities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Thursday that securing the return of the remaining hostages is a priority for Israel, emphasizing its commitment to eradicating Hamas.
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What a shame but this sort of mistake does take place more often than we would like. God bless all involved.
Surprised? The trigger happy, frightened and poorly-trained Israeli soldiers are shooting everyone, friend and foe alike.
jerk
LOL
“Poorly trained”
You banana head.
in a fire fight, it happens you idiot, no matter how well trained.
your remark is totally false. You have no idea what you’re talking about. A remark like that comes from a person with an IQ of 2!!!
collateral damage, unfortunate but not avoidable.
it’s called collateral damage, and can’t be helped.
prob on purpose, luke hoe bibi sacroficed his citizens with c19 shots and how thr countey with the most sophisticated military equipment, tunneling equipment, a fence line that can pick up a roach farting, drone coverage, and yet for hours nothing was detected, and people were floatingin like Mary Poppins on flying scooters?!???? the isreali’s would be safer if they got rid of him.
Idiot. Also edit before you send or are you retarded?
Who put them on the Bull’s Eye in the first place?
Every other nation would have lied and covered up this tragedy.
NOT SO FAST!
For those of you who have never been in close ground combat, I suggest you and the press need to step back a bit. While serving as an infantry company commander in Vietnam I experienced more than once incidents where what appeared to be civilians approaching us only turned out to be bait to draw us into an ambush or kill us in a suicide attack.
The most memorable incident occurred in November 1968. A group of what appeared to be seven civilians (four males, two females carrying small baskets, and a boy pushing a bicycle with no tires) approached us as we were moving down a dirt road toward a village. When they were within 50 yards of our lead elements we commanded them to lay face down on the ground. The boy pushing the bike immediately pushed the bike towards us and started to run away from us. The females threw their baskets toward the males as they hit the dirt. The baskets contained several hand grenades and two pistols. Before the soldiers in the lead element opened fire one of the males threw one of the grenades in our direction. After about 20 seconds of firing two of the males were dead, two males and one female were wounded. The boy disappeared into the jungle. The bike he was pushing had explosives in a small bag hanging from the handle bars with a draw string fuse which the boy failed to pull before he ran away. One of our guys received a few grenade fragments to his face and arms.
If I had been in charge of the IDF soldiers in the incident with the hostages I would have had my guys take the best covered positions available, command the three suspected hostages to strip, and then approach us very slowly. Once I was sure they had no weapons I would have directed them to take whatever cover was available until I was sure they were not being used as bait to draw us from our covered positions for possible engagement by snipers and/or a full ambush. But, that’s just how I learned to operate in close combat and probably why I am here in the woods at 81 years old versus dead in the jungle at 25 years old!