Three hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza were mistakenly killed by friendly fire, the Israeli military said in a statement Friday.
During combat operations in Shejaiya, a dense neighborhood in the Gaza City area where fighting has been taking place, the Israeli military said troops “mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat.” Troops fired at the three and they were killed, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The Israeli military has confirmed the return of the bodies of three individuals, identified as Samer Talalka, Yotam Haim, and Alon Shamriz, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. The IDF expressed deep remorse over the incident and stated that lessons learned from the event have been communicated to all troops in the field. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed his condolences, calling it an unbearable tragedy. Three hostages being
Earlier this week, the bodies of three other hostages were recovered. Elia Toledano, 28, who held French citizenship and was attending the Supernova music festival in southern Israel, Eden Zakaria, 27, and Ziv Dado, 36, were among them. The Israeli government reports that approximately 137 hostages are still being held by Hamas. The IDF continues its mission to locate the missing and return all hostages home.