The incident is a “difficult and painful event” and shows the complexity of the war in Gaza, Mr. Halevi added. He explained that “We feel the deep sorrow of the families for the death of the hostages. The IDF, and I as its commander, are responsible for what happened, and we will do everything to prevent such incidents from recurring in future combat.” Mr. Halevi also confirmed that the three victims—Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz, and Samer El-Talalka—were shirtless and held a white flag before they were shot to death.
In a Thursday press statement, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the killing of the three hostages. Following the shooting incident, Israeli troops gathered the three bodies and transferred them to Israeli-controlled territory where the Israeli side was able to identify their remains as individuals abducted during the Oct. 7 attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed his condolences in a Friday statement. He said, “Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the death of three of our hostages, including Yotam Haim and Samer Fouad Talalka. This is an unbearable tragedy and all of Israel is grieving their loss this evening. My heart goes out to the bereaved families at this difficult time.”
Israel vowed to continue the war in Gaza following an incident in which three Israelis held hostages were mistakenly killed by the IDF. Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said that it’s impossible to bring hostages back without continuing the war. He also added that the incident shows the complexity of the war in Gaza and that the IDF is responsible and will take every action to prevent such incidents from occurring again in future combat.