Israeli soldiers killed 3 hostages as they thought cries for help in Hebrew were Hamas subterfuge

Israeli soldiers ignored cries for “help” from three hostages who they killed by mistake on 15 December. As per the recently concluded military investigation, the troops heard the people in captivity shouting in Hebrew and interpreted that as “deception attempt” by Hamas terrorists to lure them into the building in Gaza’s Shejaiya district. The military investigation, published on Thursday, further said the Israeli soldiers believed the building was rigged with explosives. On 10 December, they exited the premises and killed five Hamas terrorists who were trying to escape. The military probe report further said the hostages – Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa (all men in their twenties) – were also believed to have fled the building and on 15 December, Israeli soldiers shot them after “mistakenly identifying them as a threat.” Two hostages killed instantly The probe further found out that two of the hostages were shot dead instantly. However, the third hostage managed to flee and soldiers were ordered to hold fire in order to identify him. The third hostage said “help!” and “they’re shooting at me”. He was then asked by the Israeli commanders to advance towards the soldiers. But two personnel “who did not hear the order” because of “noise” from a nearby tank shot him dead. The three hostages were all shirtless and one had been carrying a white flag. The probe further found out that on 14 December, an army drone had identified signs of “SOS” and “help, three hostages” on a building close to where the hostages were shot. ‘Army failed in its mission’ Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi, in a statement published along with the investigation report, said his army “failed in its mission to rescue the hostages in this event.” The three fatalities “could have been prevented,” Halevi added. ‘Broke whole nation’s heart’ After the report of killings of the hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it “broke my heart” and “broke the whole nation’s heart”. The killings the three hostages have sparked protests in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators demanded that the authorities come up with a new plan to bring home the remaining 129 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. As per reports, as many as 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas’s 7 October 7 attacks in Israel. With inputs from AFP