The families of hostages held in Gaza called on Israel to stop fighting and make a deal to secure their release. This comes after the army admitted "mistakenly" killing three hostages in the Palestinian territory. The Israeli army said that the captives who were killed by troops were carrying a white flag and had cried for help in Hebrew. This followed protests in Israel as relatives of the remaining hostages feared their loved ones could be next.
"We only receive dead bodies. We want you to stop the fight and start negotiations," Noam Perry, daughter of hostage Haim Perry, said at an event in Tel Aviv. Ruby Chen, father of 19-year-old soldier Itai, who is among the captives, said, “We feel like we're in a Russian roulette game (finding out) who will be next in line to be told the death of their loved one. They explained to us first that the ground operation would bring back the abductees. It doesn't work. Because since then, abductees have been seen returning, but not so much alive. It's time to change this assumption.”
Read more: Israel on mistakenly shooting Gaza hostages: ‘They were shirtless, holding…'
What Israeli officials said on mistakenly killing hostages?
An Israeli military official said as per news agency Reuters, “They're all without shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth on it. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they're terrorists, they (forces) open fire, two are killed immediately.” The third hostage was wounded and retreated into a nearby building where he called for help in Hebrew after which “immediately the battalion commander issues a ceasefire order, but again there's another burst of fire towards the third figure and he also die. This was against our rules of engagement,” he continued.
How many hostages were taken by Hamas?
{{/usCountry}}An Israeli military official said as per news agency Reuters, “They're all without shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth on it. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they're terrorists, they (forces) open fire, two are killed immediately.” The third hostage was wounded and retreated into a nearby building where he called for help in Hebrew after which “immediately the battalion commander issues a ceasefire order, but again there's another burst of fire towards the third figure and he also die. This was against our rules of engagement,” he continued.
How many hostages were taken by Hamas?
{{/usCountry}}Around 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel, which killed around 1,140 people, mostly civilians. In Israel's massive offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement, at least 18,800 people, mostly women and children, have been killed.