Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by IDF in Gaza were holding makeshift white flag, officials say
An Israeli hostage was waving a makeshift white flag and another called for help in Hebrew when they were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Gaza who “mistook them for militants”, a military official has said.
According to a preliminary investigation, three male hostages, all shirtless, appeared in Shejaiya in northern Gaza, holding a long stick with white fabric attached to it.
A soldier nearby opened fire, the military said, hitting two hostages while the third, who was wounded, managed to escape to a nearby building where other troops heard him crying for help in Hebrew. He was killed by a second soldier before a commander, concerned by the incident, issued a ceasefire order.
The Israeli military official said that they believed that the hostages – who were named by the military as Samer Fuad El-Talalka, Yotam Haim and Alon Shamriz – had either been let go or had escaped.
