The occupation army admitted that it had mistakenly killed three Israeli detainees in Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described what happened as a tragedy. While the families of detainees demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Defense to demand an immediate exchange deal.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the army forces killed in the Shujaiya neighborhood on Friday morning 3 Israelis who were detained on the 7th of last October with the start of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, explaining that this happened by mistake when the forces thought they were Palestinian militants, after… They tried to escape from captivity, and she shot them.
He added that – during a combing operation at the site – the forces suspected that the bodies might be those of Israelis, so they were transferred to the Israeli side, where the necessary tests were conducted and it became clear that they were Israeli detainees. They are Yotam Haim (Kibbutz Kfar Azza) and Samer Talqa (Kibbutz Nir Am), while the family of the third hostage requested that his name not be published.
Hagari described what happened as a “tragic accident, and the army bears full responsibility for it,” noting that the army immediately began an investigation into what happened.
An unbearable tragedy
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the killing of the three detainees is an unbearable tragedy, and pledged to continue efforts to return all the “kidnapped” to their homes safely, he said.
Netanyahu said, “The entire State of Israel is sad this evening… Along with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sadness and express my regret over the death of three of our dear, kidnapped sons… My heart goes out to the bereaved families in these difficult times.”
But the situation was different for the families of Israeli detainees in Gaza, as they demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, and raised slogans demanding that priority be given to returning these detainees alive immediately in an exchange deal and at any price.
hard mission
Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said that recovering the “hostages” militarily is a tremendous challenge and a very difficult task, but he added that the army is committed to recovering them through tactical operations that do not expose its soldiers to danger, and “it is good for them to be recovered through diplomatic means.”
The Israeli army spokesman confirmed that Hamas still possesses combat capabilities and the ability to launch rockets, and that there are still pockets of resistance in the northern Gaza Strip, and that dismantling Hamas will take a lot of time and effort, he said.
The military spokesman also touched on the difficulty of the battle, saying that the Israelis must pay a price in blood in order to achieve their goals, and that it will not be easy.
According to Agence France-Presse, the number of Israeli detainees in Gaza whose deaths were confirmed by the Israeli army has risen to 22 out of about 250 people.
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched an unprecedented attack on the occupation settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip, called “Al-Aqsa Flood,” on October 7, and succeeded in killing and capturing hundreds of Israelis.