The Israel Defence Forces has admitted it “failed in its mission” after its soldiers mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza earlier this month. Warning: Graphic
An investigation into the accidental shooting of three Israeli hostages have found one of the men was shot and killed about 15 minutes after the other two.
The IDF has published its final findings of an investigation into the December 15 killing of three Israeli hostages by its troops during fighting in a battle-torn neighbourhood of Gaza City.
The army identified the three killed hostages as Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa.
It found during those 15 minutes, an Israeli officer pleaded with Mr Haim to exit a building, to which he fled following the shooting of Mr Shamriz and Mr El-Talalka.
When Mr Haim left the building, he was shot by two soldiers despite the fact that the officer had ordered them not to fire. Mr Haim died shortly after.
The investigation also found that IDF forces on the ground did not have “sufficient awareness” of the possibility that troops would encounter captives in a situation that was not a special operation to rescue them, despite the army having intelligence of possible hostages in the area
In a statement, the IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi said the shooting “did not match the risk and the situation”.
“The (military) failed in the mission of rescuing the abductees in this incident,” he said.
“The entire chain of command feels responsible for the difficult event, grieves over this outcome and shares in the grief of the three families of the abductees.”
The findings of the investigation into the tragic incident were presented to the families of the three hostages.
It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the families of 28 of the captives in the Kirya in Tel Aviv, where the he said “we are working to return everyone. That is our goal”.
Hamas has said it would not release more captives without a full ceasefire, something Israel has repeatedly rejected.
Mr Netanyahu has faced growing domestic pressure to assure the safe return of the captives, no matter what it takes.
FOLLOW LATEST UPDATES BELOW:
ISRAELI MILITARY ‘REGRETS HARM TO CIVILIANS’ AFTER DOZENS KILLED
The Israeli military has said it “regrets the harm” caused by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike that killed dozens of people in the Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of Gaza earlier this week.
About 86 people were killed in the Israeli airstrike in the Maghazi camp, east of Deir al-Balah, late on Sunday, according to figures by the UN human rights office.
An Israeli military official, speaking to Israel’s Kan news, said: “The type of munition did not match the nature of the attack, causing extensive collateral damage that could have been avoided.”
CHILDREN BEING KILLED IN WEST BANK AT ‘UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS’
The number of children who have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has reached an “unprecedented” level, the UN children’s fund (Unicef) has warned.
At least 83 children have been killed in the West Bank in the past 12 weeks, Unicef’s regional director for the Middle East and north Africa Adele Khodr said in a statement on Thursday.
That figure is more than double the number of children killed in all of 2022.
“This year has been the deadliest year on record for children in the West Bank,” she said. In addition, she said that more than 576 children have been injured and others have reportedly been detained since October 7.
“As the world watches on in horror at the situation in the Gaza Strip, children in the West Bank are experiencing a nightmare of their own,” Ms Khodr said.
“Living with a near-constant feeling of fear and grief is, sadly, all-too-common for children affected.”
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ‘COMPLETELY FLATTENED’
At least 20 people have been killed and 55 wounded by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip overnight.
The incident occurred near the Kuwaiti hospital, Al Jazeera reported, citing its correspondent who said he witnessed “a Palestinian girl who was injured, seriously injured, and another woman whose face was fully covered with blood” as casualties entered the hospital.
“The airstrike has completely flattened the residential building that is full displaced people,” the correspondent said.
Until now rescue operations by the ambulances and civil defence teams continue to pull the people from under the rubble.
AMERICAN THOUGHT TO BE HELD CAPTIVE BY HAMAS KILLED
US president Joe Biden says that Judith Weinstein, 70, was actually killed during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, and was never taken captive.
Mr Biden said he is “devastated” to learn of the death of the US-Israeli-Canadian woman after she was “fatally wounded” during the attacks alongside her Israeli-American husband, Gadi Haggai, 73.
“We are holding Judith and Gad’s four children, seven grandchildren, and other loved ones close to our hearts,” Mr Biden said.
ISRAEL’S WAR CABINET IS EXPECTED TO MEET TO DISCUSS POST WAR
Israel’s war cabinet is expected to meet on Friday to discuss its plan for Gaza after the war with Hamas ends, according to reports.
The meeting comes following reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been putting off the discussion of plans for control of the Palestinian territory.
Mr Netanyahu has reportedly refused multiple requests from security officials to arrange a meeting on decisions relating to “the day after” Israel declares it has achieved its goals against Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip.
MIA SCHEM OPENS UP ABOUT CAPTIVITY
The 21-year-old face of Israel’s hostage crisis spoke for the first time on her 54 days in captivity, following her release at the end of last month.
French-Israeli tattoo artist Mia Schem, who appeared in the first proof of live video after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, said she “went through a holocaust” in Gaza.
“It was important for me to reflect on the true situation regarding the people living in Gaza, who they really are, and what I went through there,” she said in a preview of the full interview being aired on Israel’s Channel 13.
“Entire families are in the service of Hamas. In retrospect, I suddenly realised that I was being held in captivity by a family.
“I began asking myself questions, why am I being held in a family’s house? Why are there children here? Why is there a woman here?”
Ms Schem was abducted from the music festival in Kibbutz Re’im and was shown in a video soon after receiving treatment from a veterinarian for an injured arm.
She caused headlines after she said in videos that her captors were “very kind” before she was released during a temporary ceasefire. She has remained silent until now, revealing only a new tattoo on Instagram saying: “We will dance again”.
“I will never forget October 7, 2023,” she wrote in the post.
“The pain and the fear, the difficult sights, the friends who won’t come back, and those we must bring back. But we will win, we will dance!”
Meanwhile, Israeli captive Ruti Munder, 78, told Channel 13 upon release that conditions were reasonable at the start of the conflict.
Initially, they ate “chicken with rice, all sorts of canned food and cheese,” she said. “We were ok.:
But the menu changed when “the economic situation was not good, and people were hungry”.
ISRAEL APPROVES AID BY SEA
Israel has given preliminary approval to Cyprus for a maritime humanitarian corridor to ship aid to the besieged and war-torn Gaza Strip, the foreign ministry said.
The proposal, in the works for more than a month, aims to deliver large quantities of badly needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has waged a nearly three-month war against the Islamist militant group Hamas which rules the territory.
Gaza’s 2.4 million people are suffering chronic shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine, with only limited aid entering the Palestinian coastal territory.
Last week the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for “safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale”.
FRANCE PRESSURES ISRAEL ON CEASEFIRE
Israel has come under pressure from one of its strongest allies with a French demand for a “lasting ceasefire” in the war with Hamas.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the escalating crisis that has killed more than 20,000 people in Gaza.
The talks came as Israeli forces pressed on with intensified attacks in the Gaza Strip’s biggest southern city and central areas.
KHAN YUNIS LIT UP
Explosions lit up the sky over the southern city of Khan Yunis – a focus of heavy urban combat since the Israeli army said it had largely gained control over Gaza’s north.
The Gaza health ministry said a strike took out a house near Al-Amal hospital, killing 22 people. Heavy firefights also raged again around Gaza City in the north.
During the talks, Mr Macron, an ally of Mr Netanyahu since the start of the war triggered by the horrific Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, conveyed his “deepest concern” about civilian deaths and the humanitarian emergency in Gaza.
He also insisted on the importance of measures to end violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank and prevent new planned settlements.
“France will work in the coming days in co-operation with Jordan to carry out humanitarian operations in Gaza,” the French presidency said in a statement.
Mr Netanyahu’s office said during the call the prime minister thanked Mr Macron for “France’s involvement in defending freedom of navigation and its willingness to help restore security along Israel’s border with Lebanon”.
VIDEO APPEARS TO SHOW MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN DETAINED BY IDF
Footage circulating on social media has captured harrowing scenes showing Palestinian men, women and at least two children detained and stripped by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a stadium in northern Gaza.
A CNN geolocation of the video shows it was filmed in Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City. Hundreds of Palestinian men and boys have been detained by Israeli forces in recent weeks.
Clips in the video show what appear to be two young boys in one frame, stripped down to their underwear, walking and holding both their hands up as the IDF directs them in the stadium.
In another clip, what appears to be the same two young boys stripped of their clothing are seen with their hands above their heads as they are lined up in single file lines with other males who appear to be teens and adults.
In some clips they are sitting on the floor with their hands tied to their backs, some blindfolded, and standing in single file lines as the IDF overlooks and inspects them.
Clips of the video also show women and other children detained. In one shot, three fully clothed women are seen blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs as they sit on the grass in front of a soccer goal in the stadium.
An Israeli flag is seen hanging on the soccer goal. Stripped and blindfolded Palestinian men, with their hands tied behind their backs, are seen sitting next to the women. Military vehicles and bulldozers are throughout the stadium in the video.
MACRON FOR ‘DURABLE CEASEFIRE’ IN CALL WITH NETANYAHU
In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “deepest concern” at the “very heavy civilian toll and the absolute humanitarian emergency facing the civilian population of Gaza.“
The French president said Israel needs to work towards a “durable ceasefire” in Gaza and that needs to be done “with the help of all regional and international partners”.
Mr Macron was among one of the first Western leaders to support a full ceasefire in Gaza. That has continued as Israel’s most significant ally – the US – has refused to do so.
Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected calls to halt the fighting, saying instead operations would intensify with the goal of eliminating Hamas. France will also work with Jordan in days ahead on humanitarian operations in Gaza, the presidency said.
YOUNG ISRAELI MAN JAILED FOR REFUSING MANDATORY SERVICE
A young Israeli man has been jailed for refusing to join the army.
Tal Mitnick, 18, has been sentenced to 30 days in military prison for refusing to enlist in the army in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.
The teenager becomes the first conscientious objector imprisoned in this war and he could serve even more prison time if he continues to refuse to enlist.
“Violence cannot solve the situation, neither by Hamas nor by Israel. There is no military solution to a political problem,” he wrote in a statement explaining his decision.
SCALE OF GAZA ATTACKS IMPEDING AID DELIVERIES
The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) has warned that the scale and intensity of ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza is hindering the delivery of aid to those in need.
“Operational challenges due to insecurity, blocked roads and a scarcity of fuel are also hampering the humanitarian response,” the agency said.
UN officials have repeatedly called for a ceasefire, or at the very least, a pause in fighting to allow a scale up in aid. Those appeals have been rejected by Israel.