Iris Haim, the mother of Yotam Haim, one of the abductees who was shot dead by IDF fire in the tragic incident in Gaza last weekend, conveyed a message to the soldiers who shot her son that she loves and appreciates them. Haim added she has no anger or guilt, and she supports the soldiers and understands the complex situation they were in.
The letter that she wrote to the soldiers involved in the incident reads: "Hello to the 7828th Bislamach Brigade in the 17th battalion, Iris Haim speaking, I am Yotam's mother, I wanted to say that I love you very much and I hug you from afar, and I know that everything that happened is not your fault at all, but the fault of Hamas, may their names and their memory be forever above the ground."
"I ask that you take care of yourselves and think all the time that you are doing the best thing in the world that can help us as the people of Israel. We all need you safe and sound, and don't hesitate for a moment, if you see a terrorist, don't think you killed a hostage on purpose, you need to protect yourself because that's the only way you can protect us."
"At the first opportunity, you are welcome to come to us, we want to see you in your eyes, and we want to hug you, it's hard to say this, but what you did was probably the best thing at that moment, no one is judging you or angry, not me, not my husband, Not my daughter, not my late son, not Yotam's brother. We love you."
Haim met with Netanyahu
It was also reported that Haim said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told her that her son would receive a decoration from the IDF, even though he did not serve in the IDF due to medical reasons.
As mentioned, the late Yotam Haim was abducted to Gaza City on the day of the massacre at the beginning of last October and was accidentally shot to death by IDF forces in the Gaza Strip. During his time in captivity, his mother Iris was interviewed numerous times and worked to get him released.
On that terrible day, he wrote to her, "Mom, I'm burning," and then silence.
In an interview with Maya Buenos in Maariv, she said: "Now that I understand that my son is in Gaza, I allow myself to decide what I see and how I live. I live in the consciousness that my son is suffering or I live in the consciousness that my son is fine. And I choose to live in the consciousness that he is fine. It is a completely informed choice, very difficult, but it is a choice that is accessible to me."