The Israeli army releases new details about the murder of three hostages

World

New details released by the Israeli military about the accidental killing of three Israeli hostages in Gaza City include that there was a 15-minute gap between the fatal shooting of the first two hostages and the third, and that a commander was involved third hostage had insisted on coming. from his hiding place just before he was fatally shot.

New details included that the lookout soldiers who fired the bullets that killed the third hostage did not hear any orders to hold fire.

The Israeli military is under intense pressure from the hostages’ families and the general public to investigate and explain how the three hostages, who stripped from the waist down to show they were unarmed and held a makeshift white flag , could have been murdered. shot by Israeli soldiers. The military has taken full responsibility for the December 15 incident and said the soldiers involved in the shooting violated the army’s rules of engagement but did not act with malicious intent.

The latest account, released late Thursday, consists of a statement of 10 bullets, accompanied by photos from the ground and air and a map showing key locations in relation to where the hostages were killed. It provides new details and adds perspective to previous revelations, portraying the soldiers involved as engaged in intense and prolonged fighting and as extremely wary of Hamas schemes. Just days before the hostages were shot, two senior Israeli commanders and seven other soldiers were killed in a Hamas ambush in the same area, Shejaiye.

However, the story remains incomplete and consists solely of official Israeli military statements. The hostages and Hamas militants involved are dead and Israeli soldiers are banned from speaking publicly.

Here are some details of the new account:

Five days before the hostages were killed, a unit had heard cries for help in a building where they had engaged in a firefight with fighters. The unit ruled that the screams were a ruse and suspected that the building was booby-trapped. They did not search it and instead focused helicopter and tank fire on it. Several Hamas fighters were killed, and the military believes this allowed the hostages to escape.
The hostages are said to have fled to another building over a kilometer away. A day before they were killed, the military identified signs reading “SOS” and “Help, 3 hostages” in the area. However, the army also saw blue barrels that Hamas has used to store explosives and suspected it was a trap.
The lookout soldier who killed the first two hostages – Alon Shamriz, 26, and Samer Talalka, 24 – was operating with a line of sight obscured by a structure, suggesting he may not have seen their white flag.
The commanding officers ordered the troops to hold fire so they could identify the third man, who had fled into a building. Cries out in Hebrew: “Save me!” and “They’re shooting at me!” were heard. The officers repeated their orders to the troops to keep the fire under control and after about fifteen minutes shouted to the voice, “Come to us.”
Lookout soldiers saw a figure emerge from the building at another location. They had not heard the order to hold fire due to the noise of a nearby tank, and they shot him dead. He was later identified as Yotam Haim, 28.

In a statement included in the report on Thursday, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Brig. General Herzl Halevi said the army “failed in its mission to rescue the hostages.”

“The entire chain of command feels responsible for this difficult event, regrets this outcome and shares in the grief of the families of the three hostages,” he said, adding: “The shooting of the hostages should not have taken place. tailored to the risk and situation. However, it was carried out under complex circumstances and under intense combat conditions and with a prolonged threat.”

He said the operational investigation was carried out quickly because it was crucial to understand what had happened to ensure the mistakes were not repeated. There are still 129 hostages spread across Gaza, army officials said.