IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced Friday afternoon that Israeli troops had mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages after mistaking them for enemy combatants during an operation in the Gaza neighborhood of Shejaiya.
“This is an area where the soldiers encountered many terrorists, including suicide bombers,” Hagari said, calling the deaths of the hostages a “tragic incident.”
The spokesman named two of the three casualties as Yotam Haim of Kfar Aza, and Samar Talalka of Rahat, all of whom managed to flee captivity “or were abandoned by the terrorists who held them,” Hagari explained.
The IDF official contextualized the military’s response by highlighting the level of resistance Israeli troops face from Hamas.
“In some cases, suicide bombers were encountered, and also attacks in which terrorists tried to lure our forces and draw them into an ambush. Shortly after the tragic incident, another encounter with terrorists took place near the scene of the incident,” Hagari continued. “The IDF expresses deep sorrow for the disaster and shares in the grief of the families. May their memory be a blessing.”
A similar note was echoed by Rahat mayor Ata Abu Madighem, a predominantly Bedouin town in the south of Israel. “Such bitter news: Bedouins and Jews were taken hostage together, managed to flee together in an effort to continue their lives — and ended their lives together in this very tragic event,” Mayor Ata Abu Madighem told Army Radio following the news.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of growing discontent on the Israeli home front pressuring the government to do more to secure the release of hostages who are still being held by various Palestinian terror groups. Channel 12, a local news station, reported on Friday night that the families of loved ones abducted on October 7 were contemplating a hunger strike.
The name of the third hostage was not released, citing the family’s wishes.
“This is a sad and painful event for all of us, and the IDF bears responsibility for everything that happened,” Hagari added.