Israeli hostages shot dead by IDF forces in Gaza held up the WHITE FLAG and were stripped to their waists when they were mistaken for Hamas terrorists

Three Israeli hostages shot dead by IDF forces were holding up a white flag on a pole and were shirtless when they were mistaken for Hamas terrorists, a military official said.

Yotam Haim, 28, Alon Shamriz, 26, and Samer El-Talalka, 22, were tragically shot during Israeli operations in Gaza City, it was revealed yesterday.

The incident, which has sparked anger on the streets of Tel Aviv, took place in an area of ​​heavy fighting, where Hamas operates in civilian clothes and uses deception tactics.

The hostages were shot in violation of Israeli rules, the official confirmed.

The Israeli army said a soldier saw the hostages appear dozens of meters from Israeli forces in the Shejaiya area. The IDF previously said the three men had been wrongly identified as a threat.

‘They are all shirtless and have a stick with a white cloth on it. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they are terrorists, they (troops) open fire, two are killed immediately,” the military official said.

The third hostage was injured and retreated to a nearby building where he shouted for help in Hebrew.

“Immediately the battalion commander issues a ceasefire order, but again there is another blast of fire towards the third figure and he too dies,” the official said. “This was against our rules,” he added.

The three hostages were among about 250 people captured during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, which killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and retrieve the hostages and launched a full-scale military offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement, which has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run area says the war has killed at least 18,800 people, mostly women and children.

Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said yesterday that during fighting in Gaza City’s Shejaiya district, troops “misidentified three Israeli hostages as a threat and as a result fired at them and the hostages were killed.”

The military later said it had begun “reviewing the incident” and that “lessons were immediately learned from the event” and passed on to all troops on the ground.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described their deaths as an “unbearable tragedy.”

“Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the deaths of three of our dear sons who have been kidnapped,” Mr. Netanyahu said.

“My heart goes out to the grieving families during their difficult time.”

Mr. Haim was kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Mr. Talalka was snatched from Kibbutz Nir Am on October 7.

The third victim, Mr. Shamriz, was a computer engineering student born to Iranian parents.

The hostages’ families had been desperately trying to get them home since they disappeared more than two months ago.

The deaths of the three hostages sparked anger in Israel, with demonstrators marching last night to share their fear and anger.

Scenes from Tel Aviv showed crowds of people, many of them the families of people kidnapped by Hamas, taking to the streets with banners to mourn and call for the return of Israelis trapped in Gaza.

Protesters held signs calling for an immediate hostage exchange, displayed photos of loved ones who have now been missing for almost ten weeks, while an Israeli flag covered in red paint was left outside the Defense Ministry.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Defense Ministry, including Merav Svirsky, the sister of Hamas hostage Itay Svirsky, who said: “I am dying of fear. We demand a deal now.’

It comes amid growing international concern over Israel’s operation in the region.

The offensive has paralyzed much of northern Gaza and driven 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents from their homes.

On Saturday, the besieged Gaza Strip suffered a prolonged communications blackout that cut telephone and internet connections, while the United Nations said hunger levels had soared in recent days.

Internet and phone lines went down on Thursday evening and were still inaccessible on Saturday morning, the internet access group NetBlocks.org said, hampering aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel’s war against ruling Gaza militant group Hamas stretched into its 11th week.

“The internet blackout is still ongoing and based on our data this is the longest incident in the more than two-month war,” said Alp Toker, the group’s director.

The United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Department said communications with Gaza had been “severely disrupted” due to damage to telecommunications lines in the south.

Displaced people have found themselves in shelters, especially in the south, amid an evolving humanitarian crisis.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has expressed concern about Israel’s failure to reduce civilian casualties and its plans for the future of Gaza, but the White House continues to provide genuine support with arms shipments and diplomatic support.

In meetings with Israeli leaders on Thursday and Friday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed a timetable for ending the intense combat phase of the war.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was also expected to visit Israel soon to discuss the issue.

The US has pressured Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, and the government said it would open a second entry point to speed up deliveries.

With only a trickle of aid coming in and distribution disrupted by the fighting, the UN World Food Program (WFP) reported an increase from 38 percent to 56 percent in the number of displaced households facing severe hunger in less than 1 year suffers. two weeks.

In the north, where aid has not arrived, “households… are expected to face a catastrophic situation,” the WFP said.

It comes as the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel and Qatar plan to revive discussions over the release of hostages.

David Barnea, the director of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani were due to meet in Norway today.

The talks would focus on how to return hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and a ceasefire. However, the newspaper reports that there could be ‘significant’ roadblocks.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered again in Britain this weekend to call for an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

In north London, around a hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Camden to call for a ceasefire, with some shouting ‘from the river to the sea Palestine will be free’.