Hostage fled as Israeli forces opened fire, IDF report into three deaths says
The investigation - released nearly two weeks after the incident - repeats previous reporting that the hostages were shirtless and one of them was waving a white flag.
Thursday 28 December 2023 21:16, UK
A hostage fled as IDF troops opened fire on him, a report into the deaths of three kidnapped Israelis says.
Two hostages died in the initial volley of gunfire, a new report from the Israeli military says, while a third died 15 minutes later when he was urged to come out by the IDF and was fired upon.
Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim and Samar Talalka died on 15 December in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah.
Nearly two weeks later, the IDF has published the results of its investigation into the incident and how, it says, the three men ended up being killed by the soldiers sent to bring them home.
The opening line of the report - released on Thursday evening - says one of the three men fled the scene after they were initially shot at.
"An IDF soldier fired toward three figures, identified as threats, and hit two of the hostages who were killed. The third figure fled," the report reads.
At this point, troops on the ground were ordered to hold their fire, the IDF release says.
"After approximately 15 minutes, the battalion commander heard shouts in Hebrew of 'help' and 'they are shooting at me', and gave additional orders to hold fire, calling out in Hebrew 'come toward us'."
The man then emerged from a building when two IDF troops "who did not hear the order due to noise from a nearby tank", shot and killed him.
The IDF report also says - as was already reported - that the three hostages were walking shirtless, and one of them was waving a white flag.
Graphics released alongside the report appear to show what the IDF describes as a "blind spot" in the view of the shooter.
"The fighting creates many complex and difficult situations," IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a news conference.
"After entire days of encountering explosives, watching your friends die, having RPGs fired at you, encountering terrorists wearing civilian clothes without a weapon, pulling you toward all kinds of explosives in the streets - in that situation, a soldier stood at a window with limited visibility. He made a mistake," he said.
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Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident an "unbearable tragedy" and vowed to continue "with a supreme effort to return all the hostages home safely".
Alaa al Talalka, the cousin of Samer Talalka, said his family had had "so many hopes" that he would return safely.