The Israeli army and authorities had been underneath immense strain Sunday after ‘mistakenly’ killing three Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi on Saturday took duty for the killing by Israeli troopers.
“The IDF (Israeli army) and I, as its commander, are responsible for what happened,” Halevi stated in a video assertion, referring to the three hostages who had been elevating a white flag within the besieged Gaza Strip once they had been killed.
He claimed that in intense clashes in Gaza’s Shujaiya neighborhood, Palestinian resistance fighters had been capable of strategy Israeli troopers in civilian garments.
“A split-second decision could be a life-or-death decision,” he stated.
“There is nothing that the IDF soldiers and their commanders in the Gaza Strip want more than to rescue hostages alive. We did not succeed in this case. We feel the deep sorrow of the families for the deaths of the hostages,” he added.
“I think the three hostages did everything possible so that we would understand – they moved around shirtless so that we wouldn’t suspect them of carrying explosives and they held a white cloth – but the tension overcame all of the above,” he added.
Halevi argued that the army may see how complicated the state of affairs was within the Gaza battle. “There may be additional cases in which hostages escape or are abandoned during the fighting, and we have the duty and responsibility to rescue them alive.”
‘Unbearable tragedy’
“During combat in Shejaiya, the IDF mistakenly identified 3 Israeli hostages as a threat and as a result, fired toward them and the hostages were killed,” the Israeli military described the incident in an announcement earlier Friday.
It talked about doubts in regards to the identities of the deceased within the space the place the deaths occurred and stated searches and checks revealed suspicions.
The military stated the our bodies had been transferred to Israel for examination and after an in depth investigation, the victims had been recognized as Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka and Alon Shamriz.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mourned their deaths Friday calling the incident “an unbearable tragedy.”
“Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the fall of three of our dear sons who were taken hostage,” Netanyahu wrote on X.
“The entire State of Israel mourns this evening,” he stated, including that “necessary lessons” might be realized.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant additionally mourned and described the killings as “painful for every Israeli.”
“We must remain resilient and continue operating – for the hostages, for our citizens and for our soldiers,” he stated.
Meanwhile, members of the family of Israeli hostages in Gaza rallied Friday close to the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv after the announcement of the killings.
Source: www.dailysabah.com