The Israeli military has said that its troops shot and killed three hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas, after mistakenly identifying them as a threat.
“During combat in Shejaiya, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed,” the army said in a statement on Friday.
“The IDF began reviewing the incident immediately … Immediate lessons from the event have been learned, which have been passed on to all IDF troops in the field,” it added, expressing “deep remorse over the tragic incident”.
The army identified two of the hostages as Yotam Haim, who was taken from Kfar Aza kibbutz during Hamas’s 7 October attack, and Samer El-Talalqa, taken from Nir Am kibbutz. The name of the third hostage was being withheld at the family’s request, the army said.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a
statement: “Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the death of three of our dear sons who were kidnapped. My heart goes out to the grieving families in their difficult time.”
About 240 people were taken hostage when Hamas gunmen breached the separation barrier into Israel on 7 October and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Israel’s ensuing offensive in Gaza has killed more than 18,700 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian officials.
During a week-long truce in late November, Hamas released more than 100 women, children and foreigners it was holding in Gaza in exchange for the release of 240 women and teenagers Israel had imprisoned, many without charge.
According to the Israeli military, more than 130 of the hostages taken to Gaza are still being held. Some have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.
The Israeli government has repeatedly stated that bringing home all of the hostages is one of its chief war aims.
Families of the hostages said this week they were “shocked” by the announcement by the director of Israeli intelligence agency The Mossad that he was refusing to conduct new negotiations to free them, and demanded an explanation from the authorities.
The Palestinian Prisoners Association said Israel has detained more than 4,400 Palestinians since 7 October and is holding around half without charge.
Toledano, who turned 28 in captivity, was among an estimated 240 people taken hostage during the Hamas attacks in southern Israel. A resident of Tel Aviv, he was at the Nova music festival along with his friend and fellow French-Israeli Mia Schem, who was released under a truce agreement at the end of November.
The two friends had tried to flee by car at the start of the attack on the Nova music festival, but their tyres had been shot out. Schem had messaged other friends: “They’re shooting at us, come to help us.”
Schem, 21, who was training to be a tattoo artist, was later shown in the first Hamas video of a hostage speaking from captivity. She was released on 30 November.
The news came amid heavy fighting across Gaza, with an influx of dead and wounded at hospitals in Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah.
More details soon …