2023-12-16 17:39:14
The Israeli army reported this Saturday that the hostages it killed “by mistake” in the Gaza Strip waved a white flag and asked for help in Hebrew, according to the first elements of the investigation. The three hostages, aged between 25 and 28, appeared “a few meters from one of our positions” in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, a military official told journalists.
First modification: 12/16/2023 – 16:39
1 min
“One of the soldiers saw them when they appeared. They were not wearing shirts and had a stick with a white cloth. The soldier felt threatened and shot, declaring that they were terrorists. Two (hostages) died,” this source added.
“Immediately another was wounded and ran towards a building,” he explained, noting that the soldiers “heard a cry for help in Hebrew.”
“The battalion commander ordered the shooting to stop, but rounds were fired again at the third person and he died,” continued the military official.
Shortly after the announcement of the deaths of the three hostages on Friday night, families and supporters demonstrated to call for an immediate agreement for the release of the captives in Tel Aviv, where they were also scheduled to meet on Saturday.
The army reported a “tragic event” in an area of the Gaza Strip where soldiers are facing “great pressure”, “intense fighting” and “numerous ambushes”.
According to the person in charge, “a few hundred meters” from where the incident occurred there is a building with an “SOS” written on the wall. The army is investigating “if there is any link with the hostages.”
Some 250 people were kidnapped during the unprecedented attack launched on October 7 by Hamas on Israeli soil, which left around 1,140 dead, mostly civilians, according to authorities.
There are still 129 hostages in Gaza.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.
The Islamist movement claims that the Israeli bombings left at least 18,800 dead, most of them civilians.
#Hostages #killed #Israeli #soldiers #Gaza #waved #white #flag