Israeli military forces mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during the ground operation in Gaza in recent days, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said Friday.
The Israeli military killed Yotam Haim, 28, who was kidnapped by Hamas from Kfar Gaza, along with Samer Talalka, 22, who was abducted from Nir Am. The family of the third hostage requested that his name be withheld.
The incident took place during fighting in Shejaiya, one of Gaza City’s larger neighborhoods, where nine Israeli solders were killed in an ambush earlier this week.
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“During the fighting in Shejaiya, an IDF force mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result the force fired at them and they were killed,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said. “A suspicion arose regarding the identity of the dead. The bodies were taken for examination in Israeli territory, after which it turned out that they were three Israeli abductees.”
“The IDF expresses deep sorrow for the incident and shares in the grief of the families,” Hagari added.
Talalka worked in a hatchery, working early hours, according to The Times of Israel. Haim dreamed of being a musician.
The devastating news comes weeks into Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed over 18,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas.
The prospect that the Israeli government’s ground invasion in Gaza could kill hostages has been looming over the military operation ever since Hamas kidnapped hundreds from Israel. The IDF announced it would eliminate Hamas while also working to rescue hostages. Earlier this week, the bodies of three other hostages were recovered in Gaza as well, including Nik Beizer and Ron Sherman, the IDF said.
The IDF said it is working to learn lessons from accidentally killing the hostages in Shejaiya.
“The IDF began investigating the incident immediately. This is a combat zone where there have been many incidents in recent days,” Hagari said. “Immediate lessons from the event are now being passed on to all the fighting forces in the field.”
The White House said it was mourning the news Friday.
“This news coming out of Gaza today about these hostages being killed in the conduct of a raid… it’s heartbreaking. It’s tragic,” John Kirby, White House National Security Council coordinator, told reporters in a call Friday. “This is not an outcome that anybody wanted to see.”
Questions have been raised in recent days about Israel’s efforts to go after Hamas and whether they would end up killing hostages in the process. The IDF has reportedly begun flooding Hamas tunnels in Gaza with seawater this week, a move which was reportedly met with consternation from families of hostages.
Dozens of other hostages have been rescued in exchanges with Hamas during temporary truces.
