The Israeli Army admitted this Friday having killed three Israeli hostages who were held captive inside the Gaza Stripto those who “wrongly identified as a threat”. “During the fighting in Shujaiya, the Israel Defense Forces mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, troops fired on them and killed them,” it said in a military statement, which did not specify when the accident occurred. .

The Army has been fighting intensely for more than a week against Hamas in Shujaiya, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City, considered one of the group’s strongholds and where Israel believes they are hiding several of the hostages they are holding within the enclave. “This is a tragic incidentthe Army is responsible,” said its spokesman, Daniel Hagari, who clarified that in that area “the soldiers encountered many terrorists, including suicide bombers.”

The Army has explained that during searches in the area where the incident occurred, suspicions arose about the identity of the deceased, so their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, which “confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages“. The hostages have been identified as Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka, both kidnapped last October by Hamas in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza and Nir Am, respectively; and a third whose family has asked that his identity not be disclosed.

They express their “deep remorse”

Their bodies were taken to the Hatzvi center at the Shura military base, where the majority of the victims of the Hamas attack have been identified, where their remains were analyzed and identified. “Representatives of the Israel Defense Forces and the Police have notified all hostage families,” the statement said.

The Army has stated that they will review the incident “immediately” and has clarified that Shujaiya is an “active combat zone where continuous clashes have occurred over the past few days.” “Immediate lessons have been learned from the event, which have been transmitted to all troops on the ground,” said the Army, which has expressed its “deep remorse for the tragic accident” and his “deepest condolences” to the families.

Of the more than 240 people that Israel kidnapped on Israeli soil during the October 7 attack, there are still 129 hostages inside, around twenty of whom are believed dead. Israeli authorities announced this morning that they had rescued the bodies of three hostages that Hamas captured alive, a French-Israeli civilian Elia Toledano; and soldiers Nik Beizer and Ron Sherman.

The Army has also confirmed this Friday, the death in combat of three soldierswhich brings the number of casualties in their ranks to 119 since the beginning of the ground offensive within the enclave.