Netanyahu calls accidental killing of three hostages "unbearable tragedy"
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari had previously said on television that Israeli soldiers had "inadvertently identified the three hostages kidnapped by the radical Islamic group Hamas as a threat" during fighting in Shujaiya in the north of the Gaza Strip. The soldiers then shot at the hostages "and they were killed".
According to Hagari, the Israeli army suspects that the three hostages either escaped from Hamas or were released by their kidnappers. "We don't know the details yet," said the army spokesman.
According to the army, the bodies of the three hostages were taken to Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces identified those killed by mistake as Alon Shamris and 28-year-old heavy metal drummer Jotam Haim, both of whom had been kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Asa. The third hostage killed was the 25-year-old Bedouin Samer El-Talalka from the kibbutz Nir Am.
The Israeli army initially did not give Shamri's name, citing the family's wish to do so. It later gave the name after all.
Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the USA, took around 250 people hostage in the Gaza Strip after its major attack on Israel on 7 October. Hamas fighters had infiltrated Israeli towns and villages and committed atrocities against civilians. According to Israeli figures, more than 1130 people were killed.
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.
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- Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, expressed his grief over the "unbearable tragedy" of the accidental killing of three hostages.
- During clashes in Shujaiya, a region in the north of the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers mistook the three hostages, Alon Shamris, Jotam Haim, and Samer El-Talalka, as a threat and accidentally killed them.
- The tragic incident occurred when Israeli soldiers, as per Daniel Hagari's statements on television, mistakenly identified the hostages as a threat during fighting in Shujaiya.
- In response to the incident, Netanyahu condemned the accidental killing, calling it a "tragic mistake" that was "unbearable" to him and the people of Israel.
- The deaths of the three hostages have added to the ongoing tension between Hamas and Israel, with Hamas kidnapping around 250 people in the Gaza Strip after its major attack on Israel.
- Daniel Hagari, the Israeli army spokesman, stated that the army is still investigating the circumstances surrounding the hostages' deaths, with speculations suggesting they either escaped from Hamas or were released by their kidnappers.
- The tragic incident has further strained relations between Israel and the Gaza Strip, with continued calls for peace and a resolution to the ongoing conflict between the two parties.
Source: www.stern.de
