Sadness and anger in Israel after accidental killing of hostages by soldiers
The three men, aged between 25 and 28, appeared on Friday "a few dozen meters" from an Israel Defense Forces position in the city of Gaza, the army representative said. All three were "not wearing T-shirts" but had a "stick with white fabric on it". A soldier had seen the men, felt threatened and opened fire.
It is possible that the hostages had previously been left behind by their kidnappers or were able to escape, the report continued. The killing of the men was "against our rules of engagement", emphasized the army representative. He spoke of a "tragic" incident. The mortal remains of Alon Lulu Shamris, Jotam Haim and Samer El-Talalka were reportedly brought to Israel by the army.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep shock. He called the incident an "unbearable tragedy" that had plunged the Israeli state "into deep mourning".
As the news of the accidental killing of the three hostages spread, hundreds of demonstrators, including relatives of hostages, gathered outside the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv. They demanded a swift new agreement with Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages. According to the latest Israeli information, 129 hostages are still being held by the radical Islamic Palestinian organization.
Meanwhile, the news portal "Axios" reported that Israeli Mossad intelligence chief David Barnea will meet with Qatari head of government Mohammed ben Abdelrahmane Al-Thani in Europe at the weekend. The meeting is said to be about a second ceasefire for the release of hostages. Axios did not provide details on the exact location of the meeting or the number of hostages that could be released.
At the end of November, around one hundred Israeli hostages were released over the course of a week as part of a ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from the prisons. The agreement was brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the USA.
The fighting in the Gaza Strip continued on Saturday despite the incidents. The Israeli army reported the storming of two schools in the city of Gaza, where it suspected Hamas hideouts. Hamas, for its part, reported "fierce fighting" in the area of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, as well as Israeli shelling of the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the densely populated coastal area.
The war between Israel and Hamas has been going on for ten weeks. Hundreds of fighters from Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the USA, invaded Israeli towns on 7 October and committed unprecedented atrocities against civilians. According to Israeli reports, more than 1130 people were killed and 250 taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
In response, the Israeli army has since bombed targets in the Gaza Strip and launched a ground offensive. According to the latest figures from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, around 18,800 people have been killed so far, including around 8,000 children.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas can also be felt in other areas of the Middle East. The Houthi militia in Yemen, which is allied with Iran, has increasingly attacked container ships in the Red Sea in recent days. In response, the UK sent the destroyer "HMS Diamond" to the region, which, according to British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, intercepted and "successfully destroyed" a suspected attack drone on Saturday night.
There were also further incidents on the border between northern Israel and Lebanon. The Israeli air defense stated that it had intercepted an "enemy aircraft" that had entered from Lebanon. It also declared that it was attacking targets in Lebanon with artillery, where there have been repeated clashes with the Hezbollah militia, which is also supported by Iran, since the beginning of the war.
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Source: www.stern.de
