\n<\/p>\n
Israeli troops mistakenly shot and killed three Israeli hostages during combat with Hamas in northern Gaza on Friday, the Israeli military said. The shooting took place in Shejaiye, a densely populated community that Israeli officials have identified as a Hamas stronghold.<\/p>\n
Israeli forces \u201cmistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat,\u201d the military said in a statement. \u201cAs a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring searches and checks in the area in which the incident occurred, a suspicion arose over the identities of the deceased,\u201d it added. \u201cTheir bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n
The military identified the three as Yotam Haim and Alon Shamriz, who was taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7; and Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Am.<\/p>\n
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the Israeli military, expressed \u201cdeep sorrow\u201d and said the military was investigating. <\/p>\n
The incident occurred \u201cin a combat zone in which the troops had engaged\u201d with terrorists in recent days, including Friday, the Israeli authorities said.<\/p>\n
Soldiers had encountered what the military said were terrorists without guns and, according to Admiral Hagari, had been involved in situations \u201cin which terrorists tried to deceive our troops and to lure them into a fire trap.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA short time after the tragic incident,\u201d Admiral Hagari said, a second engagement occurred \u201cwith terrorists near the site of the incident.\u201d<\/p>\n
He promised \u201cfull transparency\u201d and said that troops were given \u201clessons\u201d for identifying hostages in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to prevent such mistakes.<\/p>\n
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents those kidnapped on Oct. 7 and their relatives, issued a statements on Friday evening, saying it shared in the \u201cprofound grief” of the families.<\/p>\n
Mr. Talalka was working at a chicken hatchery near Kibbutz Nir Am on Oct. 7 when he was abducted. He had spoke with his sister on the phone, telling her he was injured by terrorist gunfire, before the call was disconnected, according to the group\u2019s spokeswoman, Liat Bell Sommer. He was \u201can avid motorcyclist who loved to ride around the countryside,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mr. Talalka was from Hura, a Bedouin Arab town in southern Israel. He was one of several Bedouin hostages<\/a>, members of a low-profile Israeli minority<\/a>. At least 17 of the roughly 1,200 people who were killed in the attack on Oct. 7 were Bedouins.<\/p>\n Mr. Haim was a drummer who had been slated to perform at a \u201cmetal music festival\u201d in Tel Aviv on Oct. 7, Ms. Sommer said.<\/p>\n Mr. Shamriz was a \u201clover of life\u201d and basketball player and fan who had been accepted to college and was about to start a course of study in computer engineering, Ms. Sommer said.<\/p>\n The office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, released a statement calling the killings \u201can unbearable tragedy\u201d and expressing empathy for the hostages\u2019 families along with support for Israeli soldiers \u201cwho are devoted to the sacred mission of returning our hostages, even at the cost of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven on this difficult evening,\u201d the statement said, \u201cwe will bind up our wounds, learn the lessons and continue with a supreme effort to return all our hostages home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n Families of hostages have been pressuring Mr. Netanyahu to prioritize the captives and \u201cpay any price<\/a>\u201d for their release. Some marched last month from Tel Aviv to his office in Jerusalem to protest his handling of the situation, and protests outside his office have continued<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Friday night in Tel Aviv, hundreds of protesters took to the streets to demand a deal for the immediate return of all the hostages.<\/p>\n Government officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in comments this week, have argued that the intense fighting in Gaza will create the conditions for the hostages\u2019 release. But pushback from those who disagree is bound to intensify after Israel\u2019s admission that it had killed hostages in error.<\/p>\n Hostages released in deals with Hamas have thanked protesters<\/a> for keeping up the pressure on the Israeli government.<\/p>\n Mr. Netanyahu is also under pressure from one of Israel\u2019s staunchest allies, the United States, to fight more surgically and end its ground invasion of Gaza. American officials have also been urging the Israeli government<\/a> to resume the indirect negotiations with Hamas that led last month to a weeklong pause in the fighting, the release of more than 100 hostages and an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n