The Israeli military on Friday mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation in the Gaza Strip, military officials said.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari announces a tragic incident in Gaza's Shuja'iyya neighborhood during which IDF troops mistakenly identified three hostages as terrorists and shot them dead. According to an initial after-action review, the hostages had managed to escape their captors on Friday morning. When they were discovered by the troops, they were fired upon, as it was believed to be a sterile area that was clear of hostages. Their targeting appeared to be terrorists because there were no good visuals on them, and they could have been wearing clothes that made them appear as locals.
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Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari stated that the incident is being investigated immediately and that there were many clashes in the area. The assessment is that the captives were abandoned by their captors or escaped from the terrorists who were holding them.
During a sweep of the incident area, suspicion arose regarding the identities of the fatalities. The bodies were taken for examination in Israeli territory, and it was discovered that they were three Israeli captives, Yotam Haim, who was captured from Kfar Aza by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7, and Samer Talalka, taken from Kibbutz Nir Am on October 7. A notification was also given to the family of the third captive, whose name was initially withheld at their request, but later on Friday it was announced that this was Kibbutz Kfar Aza resident Alon Lulu Shamriz.
The IDF stated: "Immediate lessons from the incident are now being passed on to all combat forces in the field. The IDF expresses deep regret over the incident and shares in the grief of the families. The IDF will continue all efforts to bring the captives home."
The army's chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israeli troops found the hostages and erroneously identified them as a threat. He said it was not clear if they had escaped their captors or been abandoned.
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