Tragedy as IDF Misidentifies Israelis, Opens Fire and Kills Three
The three Israeli hostages that the Israel Defense Forces mistakenly shot and killed in the Gaza Strip on Friday were waving a white flag, according to a high-ranking IDF official.
The IDF is currently conducting a sweeping counteroffensive in Gaza against the terrorist organization Hamas, which has confined more than 100 hostages, including Israelis, foreign nationals and American citizens.
The shootings carried out by two IDF soldiers breached the Israeli military’s rules of engagement, the official stated, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“I’ll say very, very clearly: This was against our rules of engagement,” the official said. “Very tragic.”
The IDF shot and killed the hostages as they exited a building without shirts on while raising a stick holding a white cloth, according to the official. They may have removed their shirts to show that they were unarmed and not a threat.
The hostages, all men under 30 years old, were in close range of the IDF soldiers as they were fighting in Gaza. One of them “felt threatened” and started shooting, quickly killing two of the hostages, the official said.
Another soldier shot and killed the third hostage despite him yelling out in Hebrew and an order from a commander to stop shooting.
“The IDF began reviewing the incident immediately,” the IDF said in a Friday post on X.
“The IDF emphasizes that this is an active combat zone in which ongoing fighting over the last few days has occurred. Immediate lessons from the event have been learned, which have been passed on to all IDF troops in the field.
“The IDF expresses deep remorse over the tragic incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences. Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home.”
The IDF did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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