2023-12-15 21:02:57
The Israeli Army admitted this Friday to having killed three hostages of Hamas who were held captive inside the Gaza Strip, whom they “mistakenly identified as a threat.”
“During the fighting in Shujaiya, the Israel Defense Forces mistakenly identified three hostages as a threat. As a result, the troops fired at them and killed them,” said a military statement, which did not specify when the accident occurred.
The Army has been fighting intensely against Hamas for more than a week in Shujaiya, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City, considered one of the strongholds of the group and where Israel believes they are hiding several of the hostages they are holding within the enclave.
“This is a tragic incident, the Army is responsible,” said its spokesman, Daniel Hagari, who clarified that in that area ““The soldiers encountered many terrorists, including suicide bombers.”
The Army explained that during searches in the area where the incident occurred, suspicions arose about the identity of the deceased, so their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, which “confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages.”
The hostages have been identified as Yotam Haim and Samer Talalkaboth kidnapped last October by Hamas in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza and that of Nir Am, respectively; and a third whose family has asked that his identity not be disclosed.
Their bodies were taken to the center Hatzvi at the military base Shurawhere the majority of the victims of the Hamas attack have been identified, where their remains were analyzed and identified.
“Representatives of the Israel Defense Forces and the Police have notified all the hostage families,” the statement indicated.
The Army stated that They will review the incident “immediately” and clarified that Shujaiya is an “active combat zone where continuous clashes have occurred over the past few days.”
“Immediate lessons have been learned from the event, which have been transmitted to all troops on the ground”stated the Army, which expressed its “deep remorse for the tragic accident” and its “deepest condolences” to the families.
Of the more than 240 personas that Israel kidnapped on Israeli soil during the October 7 attack, there are still 129 hostages inside, around twenty of whom are believed dead.
Israeli authorities announced this morning that they had rescued the bodies of three hostages that Hamas captured alive, a French-Israeli civilian Elia Toledano; and the soldiers Nik Beizer y Ron Sherman.
The Army also confirmed today the death in combat of three soldierswhich brings the number of casualties in their ranks to 119 since the beginning of the ground offensive within the enclave.
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