Israeli Military Says It Accidentally Killed Three Israeli Hostages in Gaza

The Israeli military said it mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages that it misidentified as terrorists during fighting in Gaza. Photo: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

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The Israeli military said it mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages that it misidentified as militants during fighting in Shujaiyeh, in the east of Gaza City, on Friday, an incident that sparked protests asking the government to redouble efforts to free the remaining people in captivity.

“This is a sad and painful event for all of us and the IDF is responsible for everything that happened,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said, adding that the event was being investigated.

The killed civilian hostages were identified as Yotam Haim, 28 years old, Samer Talalka, 25, and Alon Shamriz, 26, according to Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. All three men were abducted from kibbutzim near the Gaza border on Oct. 7.

Haim, a drummer, and Shamriz, who was about to start his studies in computer engineering, were both from kibbutz Kfar Aza. Talalka, an Arab-Israeli from the town of Hura, was abducted from the chicken hatchery where he worked in kibbutz Nir Am.

Hagari said the military believes that the three Israeli hostages either ran away or were abandoned by their captors. “There will be full transparency to the public about this event,” he said.

The accidental killing of the three hostages was the first incident of its kind since the start of the war, and it comes as the Israeli military is engaged in combat in densely packed urban areas. Since the start of the ground offensive, at least 20 of the Israeli military’s 119 fatalities were accidents, mostly the result of friendly fire, the Israeli military said.
 

“My heart goes out to the bereaved families at this difficult time,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday night.

The Biden administration has pressed the Israelis to wind down their military operation in Gaza from the high-intensity campaign of airstrikes and ground assaults to one of more small-scale operations. A senior White House official on Friday said the administration was mourning the deaths and said he couldn’t comment on what led to them.

“We can’t necessarily make some sort of broad judgment about the specific circumstances here and what that says about the ability for them to be more surgical and more precise,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Israel’s two stated goals for the war have been defeating Hamas and returning the remaining hostages in Gaza. Israel has argued that increased military pressure on Hamas would help bring home the hostages either through military operations or by pushing the group to the negotiation table. But some hostage families are increasingly questioning this approach.

Late on Friday night, hundreds of people marched in the streets of Tel Aviv in a spontaneous protest in support of a hostage deal following the news of the mistaken shooting. Attending the protest were many hostage families and friends who held signs with photos of their loved ones. “Every day that passes kills the hostages,” read several protest signs. “A [hostage] deal now!” chanted the demonstrators.

“My heart is broken upon learning of the tragedy this evening,” Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity Party, said in a statement. “All of Israel is crying together with you,” he said, referring to the grieving families. Gantz said Israel “will do everything” to bring the remaining hostages back alive.

On Friday, Israeli troops were fighting street-by-street battles with Hamas militants, from Gaza City in the north to Khan Younis in the south. Gaza authorities say more than 18,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign. The figures don’t distinguish between civilians and militants.

U.N. officials have warned about the escalating humanitarian crisis, saying that clashes threaten the flow of aid into the enclave, where residents face a lack of food, water and basic services.

While Israeli public opinion has remained supportive of the military campaign in Gaza, family members of the remaining hostages have become increasingly vocal about the need to focus efforts on their release.

“There is no military option. There is no time,” wrote Hen Avigdori on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday night. Avigdori’s wife and daughter were freed from Hamas captivity as part of a hostage deal in November. “Israel must initiate a deal to bring them back alive and not in coffins,” he said.
 

A Boston real-estate lawyer has become an unlikely force in helping dozens of Americans and their family members evacuate the war-torn Gaza Strip. We sat down with him and a Gaza evacuee to get an inside look at what it takes to get people out of the region. Photo illustration: Kaitlyn Wang/Google Maps

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“The army’s fighting is putting them in danger there,” said Naama Weinberg, cousin of hostage Itai Svirsky, who called to stop all fighting until all hostages were brought home as part of an inclusive deal. “We are dying of fear,” she said on the way to the protest in Tel Aviv.

Weinberg said that according to released hostages who were held with her cousin, the Israeli men had been shaved and dressed to look like militants and that hostages were scared of exactly this type of situation.

While Israel has successfully retrieved the bodies of several hostages from Gaza, it has so far successfully rescued only one living hostage, Pvt. Ori Megidish, a soldier taken hostage on Oct. 7 who was retrieved on Oct. 30, according to the Israeli military.

“This is a painful incident for every Israeli,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said after the incident Friday. “We must remain resilient and continue operating—for the hostages, for our citizens and for our soldiers.”

Saar Idan, who attended the late-night protest, carried a sign with a photo of his abducted cousin, Tsachi Idan, 49. After the news of the mistaken shooting, he was very worried that his cousin had been killed. “These have been hard days with the announcements of finding dead hostage bodies.”

Gordon Lubold contributed to this article.