Posted on 12/28/23
| News Source: Arutz-7
The findings of the investigation into the circumstances of the deaths of three hostages from IDF fire were presented this week to the Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, by the Commander of the Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, the IDF announced this evening (Thursday).
Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka, and Alon Shamriz, who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, were mistakenly shot and killed by IDF forces during combat operations against Hamas in Gaza.
The investigation found that On December 15, 2023, during intense days of fighting in Shejaiya, an IDF soldier fired toward three figures, identified as threats, and hit two of the hostages who were killed. The third figure fled.
The commanders gave orders to hold fire in order to identify the third figure. After approximately 15 minutes, the battalion commander heard shouts in Hebrew of "help" and "they are shooting at me," and gave additional orders to hold fire, calling out in Hebrew "Come toward us." The figure emerged from a building toward the forces. Two soldiers, who did not hear the order due to noise from a nearby tank, shot at and killed the third hostage.
From the investigation and analysis of the findings and aerial footage of the area, it was revealed that the hostages were walking shirtless, and one of them was waving a white flag, standing at a point with limited visibility relative to the position of the soldier who fired the shot.
At the end of the incident, after the forces cleared and scanned the area, a suspicion arose that the individuals were hostages. The bodies were transferred for examination in Israel, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages.
Prior to the incident, on December 10, a note with the Hebrew writing "Help" was found at the exit of a terror tunnel in the Shejaiya area. Alongside the note, an ID of a Hamas operative was found. The note was examined, but no information emerged linking it to the presence of hostages in the area. The forces in the field considered it as an attempt by Hamas to deceive and lure the forces into an ambush.
Additionally, on December 10, troops of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion operated in the Shejaiya area and operated in several buildings to locate terrorists and weapons. The forces broke into a building and sent in a dog from the "Oketz" K-9 Unit for explosives detection. A battle ensued in which the terrorists shot at the dog and towards the forces from within the building. The forces returned fire toward the sources of the shooting and eliminated a terrorist in the area.