By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM/GAZA (Worthy News) – Three Israeli hostages killed mistakenly in Gaza by Israeli forces had been holding up a white flag, according to an initial inquiry into the incident, the military said Saturday.
The incident happened Friday in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of eastern Gaza City, an area of intense combat, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) explained.
“During the fighting in Shijaiyah, the IDF inadvertently identified three kidnapped Israelis as a threat. As a result, the IDF fired at them, and they were killed,” said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli military.
“This is a sad and painful event for all of us, and the IDF bears responsibility for everything that happened,” he told reporters.
Hamas militants operate in civilian attire and use deception tactics there, according to military sources. The confusion may have contributed to the killing of hostages against Israel’s rules of engagement, investigators seem to suggest.
The Israeli military identified the three victims as Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 25, and Alon Shamriz, 26.
Talalka, an Israeli Bedouin, was working with his father at a poultry hatchery in Kibbutz Nir Am on October 7 when Hamas attacked, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement. Haim, a musician, and Shamriz, a computer engineering student, were at their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza when they were abducted, the group said.
DEADLIEST INCIDENT
It was one of the deadliest known incidents involving hostages since Israel launched its invasion of Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.
News of the death of hostages by Israeli fire came as families of kidnapped people were to meet urgently on Saturday to pressure Israeli leaders further to secure the release of all hostages taken in the October 7 attacks.
After the announcement, which followed sundown on the Jewish Sabbath, thousands of Israelis flocked to the military’s headquarters in Tel Aviv to protest the hostages’ deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he understood the grieving. “Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the fall of three of our dear sons who were kidnapped,” said Netanyahu in a statement. “My heart goes out to the grieving families in their difficult time.”
Friday was the hostages ’70th day in captivity. Hamas, condemned as a terrorist organization by Israel, kidnapped more than 240 Israelis and other foreign nationals on October 7. About 1,200 people were killed on what became known as the “Black Sabbath.”
Some 110 hostages have since been freed, most of them during a seven-day ceasefire late last month in exchange for the freeing by Israel release of Palestinian prisoners.
At least 110 others are thought to remain alive in captivity in Gaza, according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Around 20 others are believed to be dead, with their remains held by Hamas, according to Israeli officials.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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