Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference at the Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv, December 16, 2023. (Photo: Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said they accept responsibility for the tragic shooting and killing of three Israeli hostages in the Shejaiya neighborhood on Friday.
The three hostages had escaped their captors and were approaching the IDF when they were shot and killed.
According to reports, the three had removed their shirts and one was waving a white cloth. They even shouted “Help!” in Hebrew. Despite these attempts to demonstrate a lack of threat, an IDF sniper shot two of the hostages. He apparently shouted out, “Terrorists” while the third hostage ran into the building.
That hostage repeated his call in Hebrew, “Help!” The soldiers then called for him to exit the building. When he exited, he was shot by another soldier.
The IDF took the unusual step of releasing the probe results almost immediately and with very little censoring. A first in this Gaza conflict.
The soldiers involved said they suspected the men were Hamas terrorists attempting to lure them into an ambush.
Halevi said, “The IDF, and I as its commander, are responsible for what happened, and we will do everything to prevent the recurrence of such cases in the continuation of the fighting.”
Halevi also noted that the soldiers who shot the hostages did so in spite of regulations prohibiting the shooting of unarmed persons. He said the hostages did everything correctly.
“The three hostages did everything so that we would understand,” Halevi stated. “They moved without shirts so that we would not suspect them of carrying a bomb on their bodies, and held a white cloth so that we would understand.”
Halevi reiterated the centrality of returning the hostages in the battle against Hamas
The IDF expresses deep remorse over the tragic incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences. Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home.”
The IDF said that the situation in Shejaiya is very complex. IDF forces in the area had found SOS graffiti in English and writing in Hebrew a few days before on a building which said, “Help” and “Abducted”. The soldiers did not investigate the building with the graffiti, due to fears the building was booby-trapped. Another building in the area had been lined with IEDs.
Halevi noted that Hamas fighters routinely wear civilian clothes.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant echoed Halevi’s comments.
“As Minister of Defense, I bear responsibility for everything that takes place in the defense establishment, for everything that takes place during this war – both for the achievements and the prices [we pay], and for the grave mistakes.”
He said the death of the hostages “took place as a result of significant errors.”
“You must understand the circumstances and the environment in which our soldiers are operating,” Gallant said. He described several attempted booby-traps which soldiers have encountered in recent days.
“Sometimes tapes are played with the sounds of an infant crying, to [lure] soldiers into apartments and then detonate explosives. These are events that have taken place and that continue to take place,” Gallant stated.
Gallant said he had phone calls with all the families of the hostages.
“I heard their pain – these were charged, painful conversations. They were difficult first and foremost for the families, but also difficult for me, personally,” he said.
Both Gallant and Halevi said the IDF has briefed soldiers on proper protocols, including the possibility of encountering hostages fleeing in an active combat area.
However, Gallant, Halevi, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire. Netanyahu said, “We are fighting for our existence, and we have to continue until victory.”
Hamas has said it would not release any more hostages unless Israel declares a permanent ceasefire, which Israel is unwilling to do.
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