The brother of one of the three hostages killed by mistake by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip accused Sunday during his funeral those who “abandoned” him of having also “murdered” him. “You did everything right,” said Ido Shamriz, speaking to his brother Alon, 26, at his funeral in Shefayim, a kibbutz north of Tel Aviv.
Kidnapped on October 7, he was shot dead with two other hostages, while they shouted for help in Hebrew, waved a white flag and were shirtless, for fear of being mistaken for Hamas men. The Israeli army published photos on Sunday evening that it said it had taken at the scene of the tragedy in the Gaza Strip. We see messages in Hebrew written on pieces of white fabric where we can read: “SOS”, “Help” or “3 hostages”.
Maintaining “military pressure”
The messages were clearly written using meal reliefs, the army said. “According to our investigation on the ground, it appears that the three hostages stayed for a certain time in the building where these messages were found.” Since the announcement of this mistake and faced with the anger of the Israelis, the army has continued to communicate, claiming to have “learned lessons” from it. However, the pressure from hostage relatives calling for the resumption of negotiations with Hamas has not weakened.
Hundreds of people marched in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening before camping in front of the Ministry of Defense to demand the return of their loved ones. Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he was “heartbroken”, but wanted to “maintain military pressure”, while Hamas made a truce the prerequisite for any agreement.
“Tragic event”
The army said it regretted a “tragic event” which occurred in a sector of Gaza where soldiers faced “great pressure”, “intense fighting” and “numerous ambushes”. She nevertheless spoke of a “violation of the rules of engagement” and an investigation is underway. “You survived 70 days of hell,” Alon’s mother Dikla said during her eulogy. “One more moment and you would have been in my arms.”
Some 250 people were taken hostage during the unprecedented attack launched on October 7 by Hamas on Israeli soil, which left around 1,140 dead, mostly civilians, according to the authorities. To date, 129 hostages are still being held in Gaza. In retaliation, Israel promised to “destroy” Hamas in power in Gaza and its strikes left 18,800 dead, the majority women, children and adolescents, according to the authorities of the Palestinian Islamist movement.