IDF troops who killed hostages told to shoot fighting-age men in Gaza - report

Preliminary investigation by the IDF shows instructions changed following cases of terrorists tricking fighters; IDF officer's ceasefire call ignored, leading to fatal shooting of three hostages.

 Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz, who were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip and accidentally shot by the IDF, December 16, 2023 (photo credit: SCREENSHOT ACCORDING TO 27A OF COPYRIGHT ACT)
Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz, who were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip and accidentally shot by the IDF, December 16, 2023
(photo credit: SCREENSHOT ACCORDING TO 27A OF COPYRIGHT ACT)

The IDF's 828th Brigade has released a preliminary investigation into the killing of three Israeli hostages by IDF combat soldiers in Shejaia in the Gaza Strip.

The investigation reveals that on the morning of the incident, soldiers in Shejaia received new instructions to open fire on any man of fighting age that approached them after several incidents where terrorists disguised in civilian clothes got close to soldiers to attack them.

The 17th Battalion, involved in the shooting, reported that they had been fired upon by terrorists who had taken refuge in a school and were using the civilian population as cover. Meanwhile, the battalion commander was informed that an armed man in civilian attire had blown himself up in a suicide bombing after approaching IDF soldiers the previous day.

How the IDF accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza

On the morning of the accidental killing of the hostages, at around 9:00 a.m., a combat stationed on the third floor of a building, which had been searched and cleared for IDF operations, began to notice silhouettes and hear footsteps in a building a few dozen meters away. Upon spotting three people, later identified as some of the hostages who had been kidnapped on October 7, the soldier mistakenly declared them as "terrorists" and opened fire, hitting two of them while the third fled to a nearby building.

 Signs on which calls for help were written, apparently using food scraps, Gaza Strip (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
Signs on which calls for help were written, apparently using food scraps, Gaza Strip (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)

The battalion commander and other soldiers in the building heard the escaping man shouting in Hebrew. The soldiers in the building were all clearly ordered to cease fire, and the third hostage, whose identity was still unknown, told to leave the area. When the battalion commander saw him, he approached and reiterated to the soldiers behind him not to shoot. Simultaneously, the soldiers were cautioned not to approach, fearing a possible attack.

However, at this critical moment, a soldier observing this fired a single bullet, hitting him. Shortly after, another soldier in the same position also opened fire, mistaking him for the enemy. According to the investigation, the two soldiers did not hear the commander's order to stop firing as they were on a different floor.

Following the shooting of the three hostages, the battalion commander, still concerned about the possibility of an attack, directed the soldiers to fire at possible points of danger in the area. Together with the company commander, he then proceeded to search the building where the hostages were located while also bringing in a bomb disposal squad was there to check for and disarm any explosives.

It was only then that the soldiers realized that one of the people they killed had a "Western appearance" and began trying to identify the bodies, which were later confirmed to be three Israeli hostages.

Although the hostages had waved a white flag at the fighters and inscribed "SOS" and "help us" on their building, only the soldier who recognized them took notice of the flag. The rest of the soldiers only discovered it during subsequent searches in the area.