2023-12-18 01:37:26
“Take two seconds.” The chief of general staff of the Israeli army refocused his troops on Sunday after the death on Friday of three hostages, killed “by mistake” by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
“You see two people, they have their hands raised and are without shirts, take two seconds,” prompted Herzi Halevi, in a video broadcast on Sunday on X (ex-Twitter). “I want to tell you something equally important: if it’s two Gazans with a white flag coming out to surrender, why would we shoot at them? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. This is not the IDF,” continued the chief of staff, who was speaking from Gaza to soldiers of the Israeli 99th division.
“You see two people with their hands raised and no shirts on, think about it. Something just as important: if it’s two Gazans with a white flag coming out to surrender, why would we shoot them? Absolutely not. It’s not the IDF.”
2/2
— Tsahal (@Tsahal_IDF) December 17, 2023
The three hostages, Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samir Talalka, were killed on Friday after being identified “by mistake” as a “threat”. The three men, however, presented themselves shirtless, with a white flag, and spoke in Hebrew before being shot.
“The IDF does not shoot a person with their hands in the air”
The hostages knew they were taking “a risk by approaching IDF forces,” but they sought to “minimize” it through precautions, the chief of general staff said. “I’m sure (the soldiers involved) are the best because everyone wants to do the right thing, and I’m sure they were convinced that they were doing the right thing,” continued Herzi Halevi. “I am not speaking to you to tell you whether they were right or wrong, but so that we may be right in the future,” he also declared.
“Even those who fought and who now lay down their weapons by raising their hands, we stop them, we do not shoot at them,” he insisted. The IDF does not shoot a person with their hands in the air. It’s a strength, not a weakness.”
VIDEO. Three Israeli hostages killed “by mistake” by IDF soldiers in Gaza
The army expressed its “deep remorse” on Friday following the incident, from which it assured it had “learned immediate lessons”. She also announced the opening of an investigation. She revealed on Sunday that she had discovered signs calling for help near where the three hostages were killed. “The incident is being investigated,” she said.
#IDF #Israeli #chief #staff #reorganizes #troops #death #hostages