The Israeli army has said it accidentally shot three hostages dead after “mistakenly” identifying them as a threat.

“During the fighting in Shejaiya, an IDF force mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat”, spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

“As a result the force fired at them and they were killed.”

Mr Hagari said their bodies were examined after “suspicion arose” about their identities, and they were identified as three Israeli hostages.

The victims include Yotam Haim, who was kidnapped from Kfar Gaza, and Samer Talalka, who was taken from Nir Am on Oct 7.

Haim was a drummer for the heavy metal band Persephore.

The family of the third victim asked the IDF to withhold his name.

Mr Hagari said the IDF immediately opened an investigation into the deaths.

“This is a combat zone where there have been many incidents in recent days”, he said on Twitter.

“Immediate lessons from the event are now being passed on to all the fighting forces in the field.”

He said the IDF “expresses deep sorrow for the incident and shares in the grief of the families”.

This is a breaking story