Israel’s army continues to wage heavy fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Your job is also to get hostages out. But now a tragic incident is causing protests. The overview.
The Israeli military has revealed new details about the accidental killing of three hostages by Israeli soldiers. The killed men came out of a building several dozen meters away from the troops, an Israeli military official said. They were shirtless and one was holding a stick with a white piece of cloth in his hand.
A soldier reportedly felt threatened and opened fire. Two of the men were killed directly. A third man fled back into the house. A commander ordered the fire to stop, but when the third man stepped back outside, shots were fired again. He was also killed. “I want to make it very clear that this action was against our rules of engagement,” the military official said. According to the information, a cry for help in Hebrew could also be heard.
Nevertheless, the military representative made it clear that the area was an active combat zone. Troops have already been lured into ambushes there. In addition, attackers often wear “jeans and sneakers”. It is also currently being investigated whether there is a connection with a nearby house that had the letters SOS on it. The troops in the Gaza Strip have been reminded of the rules of engagement to avoid such tragic incidents, it said. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
It is still unclear whether the men were able to escape their captors or were deliberately left behind. The tragic incident sparked spontaneous protests in Israel. Organizers accuse the government of not doing enough to free the hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s military: bear responsibility
“This is a sad and painful incident for all of us, and the army bears responsibility for everything that happened,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said. The three victims were kidnapped along with around 240 other people to the Gaza Strip in the unprecedented massacre by Hamas terrorists and other groups in Israel on October 7th. More than 1,200 people were killed in the terrorist attack. Israel responded with massive air strikes and began a ground offensive in late October. According to the latest Hamas figures, around 18,700 people have been killed in attacks in the Gaza Strip so far.
Netanyahu: Learn lessons and move on
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the deaths of the three hostages at the hands of his own compatriots as an “unbearable tragedy.” “The entire State of Israel is in mourning tonight. My heart goes out to the grieving families in their difficult time of grief,” Netanyahu wrote on social media. “Even on this difficult evening, we will tend to our wounds, learn the lessons and continue with our utmost efforts to bring all our hostages home safely,” Netanyahu said.
Protesters demand new hostage deal
While the general Israeli public continues to support the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, there are increasing doubts among family members of the hostages. During the spontaneous protests in Tel Aviv, it was said that with a new hostage deal, like the one that existed at the end of November, incidents such as the death of three hostages at the hands of one’s own soldiers could be prevented. “Her time is running out! Bring her home now,” the people shouted.
According to Israeli estimates, 112 hostages are currently being held in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is still not releasing the bodies of 20 abductees, Netanyahu’s office said. How one knows which of the abductees are dead was not mentioned.
US government calls hostage deaths tragic
Israel’s war aims are to destroy Hamas and repatriate the remaining hostages. But while Israel’s military was able to retrieve the bodies of several hostages from the Gaza Strip, it has only been able to rescue one living hostage, a soldier, according to the Wall Street Journal. The US government described the deaths of three hostages at the hands of soldiers as “heartbreaking” and “tragic”.
“Of course, this is not an outcome that anyone wanted,” said National Security Council communications director John Kirby. However, the case is not suitable for making a general judgment about whether the Israeli military is able to act precisely in the Gaza Strip, Kirby said.
After talks with the Israeli leadership, the US government recently expressed the expectation that Israel would move from “high-intensity” military action to “more targeted” military operations. However, Washington did not specify a time period for this.
Journalists killed again in fighting
According to Al-Jazeera, a cameraman from the Arabic television station was also killed in an Israeli drone strike in Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip. According to the European news agency association EANA, a cameraman from the Turkish news agency Anadolu Bei was also killed in air strikes by the Israeli military. Since the start of the Gaza war, 63 journalists have been killed, according to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Air force delivers aid to Egypt
A plane carrying medical supplies for patients from Gaza took off for Egypt on Saturday. The Air Force’s Airbus A400M took off at 8:28 a.m. from Wunstorf Air Base in Lower Saxony (Hannover region). The federal government wants to use the special flight to bring relief supplies to Cairo that are needed there to treat people from the Gaza Strip. According to the Air Force, there are 7.6 tons of cargo on board on a total of nine pallets, mainly ventilators and incubators for infants.
According to information from the German Press Agency, the aid delivery, which the Air Force is carrying out on behalf of the Foreign Office, is worth around 1.4 million euros. This is a response to requests from the Egyptian government. Further Bundeswehr flights are to take place next week in cooperation with the so-called EU airlift. The aim is then to deliver tents and other relief supplies to people in Gaza who have lost their homes.
New fighting on the Israeli-Lebanese border
Fighting continues on the border between Lebanon and Israel. Israel’s air defense intercepted an enemy aircraft from Lebanon on Saturday morning, the military said. Another aircraft crashed in an area in the north of the country. In response, targets in Lebanon were attacked.
Previously, warning sirens wailed in several Israeli towns. According to Israeli media reports, the flying objects were two drones loaded with explosives. It was initially unclear who the drones came from. The Lebanese Hezbollah militia only stated that it had attacked Israeli soldiers in the morning.
Association calls for clarification on death of cameraman in Gaza
The Foreign Press Association (FPA) has called on the Israeli military to investigate the death of a cameraman for Al-Jazeera television in the Gaza Strip. “We consider this a serious blow to the already restricted freedom of the press in Gaza and call on the army to immediately investigate and explain,” said the association, which represents foreign journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Accordingly, the killed cameraman Samer Abu Dakka was the first FPA member to be killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war. He was buried on Saturday.
According to Al-Jazeera, the 45-year-old father of four died in an Israeli drone attack in the south of the sealed-off coastal strip. Because of the fighting, rescue workers were initially unable to reach him – ultimately, according to the broadcaster, they were only able to recover his body.