Protests in Tel Aviv after military admits killing three hostages by mistake
Israel on Saturday mourned the deaths of three Gaza hostages killed when troops mistook them for a threat, with the military expressing remorse over a “tragic” incident that sparked protests in Tel Aviv.
Agence France-Presse reports that the Israeli army said Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa – all aged in their twenties – were shot during operations in a neighbourhood of Gaza City.
The three were among an estimated 240 people taken hostage during Hamas’s October 7 raids into Israel, which also killed an estimated 1,200 people.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said:
During combat in Shejaiya, the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat and as a result fired toward them and the hostages were killed.
The IDF expresses deep sorrow regarding this disaster and shares in the grief of the families.
Their bodies were transferred to Israel, and on examination were confirmed as being Haim, a 28-year-old heavy metal drummer, 25-year-old Bedouin man El-Talalqa and Shamriz, 26.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu described their deaths as an “unbearable tragedy”. “All of Israel is grieving their loss,” he said, while the White House called it a “tragic mistake”.
As news of the incident spread late on Friday, hundreds of people gathered at Israel’s ministry of defence in Tel Aviv to call on Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of more than 130 hostages Israel believes to still being held in Hamas-ruled territory.
The demonstrators waved Israeli flags and brandished placards. One message read:
Every day, a hostage dies.
Merav Svirsky, sister of Hamas-held hostage Itay Svirsky, said:
I am dying of fear. We demand a deal now.
Key events
Opening summary
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. My name is Adam Fulton and here’s a rundown on the latest news.
Israel has said its troops killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza after mistaking them for a threat, with the armed forces expressing “deep remorse” over a “tragic incident” that sparked protests in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli military said Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa – all aged in their 20s – were shot during fighting in Gaza City.
Hundreds of people later marched in Tel Aviv and gathered at Israel’s ministry of defence in protest, displaying placards with the faces of some of more than 130 people Israel believes to still be held by Hamas in Gaza and calling for their immediate release.
Meanwhile, an Al Jazeera cameraman was killed and the network’s chief Gaza correspondent wounded in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in the territory, the network has said.
The cameraman, Samer Abu Daqqa, was “left to bleed to death for over five hours as Israeli forces prevented ambulances and rescue workers from reaching him”, it said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Committee to Protect Journalists called on international authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the incident “to hold the perpetrators to account”.
More on those stories soon. In other developments as it turns 8am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv:
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu mourned the three hostages accidentally killed by Israeli forces, saying on X (formerly Twitter): “Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the fall of three of our dear sons who were kidnapped.”
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Israel reopened an aid crossing into the Gaza Strip on Friday after earlier approving the “temporary measure”. Netanyahu’s office said after weeks of pressure that the aid would be allowed to be delivered directly to Gaza through its Kerem Shalom border crossing.
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Two of the world’s largest shipping firms, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, have said they are suspending passage through a Red Sea strait vital for global commerce after Yemeni rebel attacks in the area. The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of Yemen but are not recognised internationally, say they are targeting shipping to pressure Israel during its war in Gaza.
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The US should back the UN security council’s action to protect Gaza’s civilians, Human Rights Watch has said. HRW’s UN director, Louis Charbonneau, said on Friday that the US should act at the UN security council to “pressure Israel, as well as Palestinian armed groups, to comply with international humanitarian law and protect civilians”.
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The German airline carrier Lufthansa has said it will resume flights to Tel Aviv starting 8 January. In a statement released on Friday, Lufthansa said: “In a first phase, Lufthansa Airlines will initially offer four weekly flights from Frankfurt and three weekly flights from Munich. Austrian Airlines is planning eight weekly connections and SWISS five weekly flights.”
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The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees told the Global Refugee Forum that what continued to shock him was the “ever increasing level of dehumanisation” with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Philippe Lazzarini said: “The fact that people can laugh, cheer and mock any type of wrongdoing that we observe in this war, when in fact what is happening in Gaza should outrage anyone, should make us all rethink our values… This is also a make or break moment for all of us and for our shared humanity.”
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