Three hostages who were mistakenly killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza had used leftover food to write signs pleading for help, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. The men- Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26 - were killed in the Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City . They had been staying at the building next to where Israel shot "for some period of time", the army informed while Gaza health ministry said that Israeli air strikes killed at least 90 people in the Jabalia refugee camp.
About 120 hostages are believed to be still in captivity in the Gaza Strip, held by Hamas and allied Palestinian groups as Israel faces more pressure for a ceasefire deal to free more captives.
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What Israel had said earlier about the killing of hostages
Israel earlier admitted to the killing of three men who were holding a white flag and said that it was a breach of "rules of engagement". The three men were seized and taken to Gaza during the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed around 1,200 in southern Israel prompting Tel Aviv to launch a massive retaliatory operation aimed at destroying Hamas. More than 18,000 people have been killed in Gaza since with hundreds of thousands of others pushed out of their homes.
An Israeli official had told news agency Reuters earlier that the three men emerged shirtless from a building with one carrying a stick with a white cloth. As one soldier felt threatened, he declared them "terrorists" and opened fire. Two were immediately killed while the third who was wounded, returned to the building. A cry for help was also heard in Hebrew after which the battalion commander ordered the troops to cease fire. The wounded hostage later re-emerged, and was shot and killed, the official said.
What has IDF said now about the hostages?
{{/usCountry}}An Israeli official had told news agency Reuters earlier that the three men emerged shirtless from a building with one carrying a stick with a white cloth. As one soldier felt threatened, he declared them "terrorists" and opened fire. Two were immediately killed while the third who was wounded, returned to the building. A cry for help was also heard in Hebrew after which the battalion commander ordered the troops to cease fire. The wounded hostage later re-emerged, and was shot and killed, the official said.
What has IDF said now about the hostages?
{{/usCountry}}The IDF said that it was not clear whether the hostages had been abandoned by their captors or escaped. The Israeli army searched the building where messages "SOS" and "Help, 3 hostages" written on fabric were found. The hostages had been in the building for some time, IDF said.
Israel faces pressure for ceasefire
Families of the hostages urged the Israeli government to reach a new truce for at least some of the captives to be freed. The initial deal led to the release of more than 100 hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails. But Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu deflected the calls as he insisted that "military pressure is necessary both for the return of the hostages and for victory".