News summary of the Israel–Hamas war of December 29

The Israeli army “failed in its mission” to rescue three hostages who were shot dead by its troops in Gaza this month, its chief of staff said on Thursday, as the army released the results of an investigation.

According to the report, the findings concluded that Israeli command ranks were aware that there were hostages in the area and “even took measures to prevent attacks on locations suspected of holding hostages.”

But the investigation also concluded that Israeli forces on the ground were not “sufficiently aware” of the possibility of hostages coming to them or that troops were not likely to encounter hostages in operations that were specifically aimed at They were not to be freed.

The Israeli army “failed in its mission” to rescue three hostages accidentally killed by its troops in Gaza this month, its chief of staff said on Thursday, as the army released the results of an investigation.

According to the report, the findings concluded that Israeli command ranks were aware that there were hostages in the area and “even took measures to prevent attacks on locations suspected of holding hostages.”

But the investigation also concluded that Israeli forces on the ground were not “sufficiently aware” of the possibility of hostages coming to them or that troops were not likely to encounter hostages in operations that were specifically aimed at They were not to be freed.

Yotam Haim, Alon Shimriz and Samer Talalka were kidnapped by Hamas militants during an attack on Israel on October 7. On 15 December, three people were killed during an IDF operation around the Shejaiya area of ​​Gaza City.

That day, according to the findings, an Israeli soldier shot three hostages “identified as a threat”, killing two of them. The third hostage fled, and the battalion commander ordered not to fire in order to identify the third man.

When the commander heard someone yelling “help” in Hebrew, he told that person to go to the soldiers; The hostage ran out of a building and walked towards the soldiers, the report said. According to the investigation, two soldiers did not hear the commander’s order not to fire “due to the noise of the nearby tanks” and shot the third hostage.

The investigation also concluded that “the hostages were walking without shirts, and one of them was waving a white flag, standing at a point with limited visibility in relation to the position of the soldier who fired.”

Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said that the shooting “could have been avoided” but determined that “there was no malicious intent in the incident, and the soldiers took the correct action based on their best understanding of the incident at the time.”

Days before the three hostages were killed, Israeli soldiers heard cries for help in Hebrew coming from a building while fighting Hamas gunmen, reports said. According to the report, the soldiers thought it was an attempt to set them up.

During the fight, a camera mounted on a military dog ​​also captured the hostages calling for help. The same day, a note written “Help” in Hebrew was found at the exit of a tunnel, which Israeli soldiers interpreted as an attempt by Hamas to lure them in, the report said.

According to the report, Israeli drone footage on December 14 identified signs reading “SOS” and “Help, 3 hostages” 200 meters away on a building where three hostages were killed the next day.

The Israeli military suspected a trap after blue barrels, which the report said are often found in occupied areas, were spotted nearby.

Halevi concluded that the hostages should not have died and that it was not commensurate with the risks of the situation.

He said, “Standard operating procedures are essential, and they are also designed to protect us, so that we don’t kill our own troops. They establish and influence lethal decisions, as happened in this case.”