GNITN – Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 71

Bad Situation Gets Worse

More Information On Hostage Killings

As if this situation could get any worse, we originally thought that the young men were wearing clothes of terrorists, but they in fact were not. We read more on this from an article in The Times Of Israel:

Three hostages shot dead by Israeli troops in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood Friday were shirtless, and one of them was carrying a stick with a makeshift white flag, the IDF said Saturday after an initial probe into the tragic incident.

Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka and Alon Lulu Shamriz managed to escape Hamas captivity before they were mistakenly shot dead by troops on Friday morning at around 10 a.m.

According to a senior officer in the Southern Command, citing an initial probe, the incident began after a soldier from Bislamach Brigade’s 17th Battalion stationed in a building identified three suspicious figures exiting a building several dozen meters away.

The article goes on to give more specific details of what happened:

All three were shirtless, with one of the figures carrying a stick with a makeshift white flag, according to the investigation.

The soldier, who believed the men moving toward him was an attempt by Hamas to lure IDF soldiers into a trap, immediately opened fire and shouted “terrorists!” to the other forces.

According to the probe, that soldier killed two of the men, while the third man, who was hit and wounded, fled back into the building from which he came.

So they knew enough to remove terrorist clothing and make a white flag. After two of them were killed an order to stop firing was given. The third hostage then yelled “help” in Hebrew from inside the building he fled to.

Inexplicable Actions Taken Next

As the account continues we read this:

Moments later, the third man came out of the building to which he had fled, and another soldier opened fire at him, killing him.

The battalion commander then realized that the appearance of the third man was unusual, and he was revealed to be an Israeli hostage. The three bodies were taken to Israel for identification.

The soldier who opened fire upon identifying the three men did so against protocols, as did the soldier who killed the third man, according to the officer.

Lost in all of this is that the conditions on the ground are pressure-filled and things happen quickly. Life and death calls are made in seconds and such decisions are not always right as is noted in the same article:

Still, the IDF understood that the conditions in the field led the soldiers to act in that way — the senior officer said the military has not identified any Palestinian civilians in Shejaiya in recent days.

The scenario itself, of hostages walking around in a battle zone, was not taken into account by the IDF.

Immediately following the incident, the IDF sent new protocols to ground troops for the possibility of more hostages managing to flee captivity.

“There is a possibility that hostages were abandoned or escaped, and forces should be aware of the possibility of such an encounter and pay attention to tell-tale signs, such as speaking in Hebrew, raising hands, and clothing,” the new protocols read.

IDF Leadership Takes The Blame

It may not be of much consolation to the families who lost their sons yesterday, but the IDF released a statement that they are to blame as we read in a report from i24news.tv:

IDF Chief of Staff Major General Herzi Halevi, released a statement taking responsibility for the tragic killing of three Israeli hostages who escaped their Hamas captors in Gaza.

The initial investigation revealed a violation of the military's rules of engagement during the incident.

Herzi Halevi expressed deep regret and sorrow over the incident, recognizing the pain it has inflicted on the families of the victims. In his statement, he emphasized the IDF's unwavering commitment to rescuing abductees alive and ensuring their safe return home.

Halevi explained, "I think that the three abductees did everything so that we would understand - they moved without shirts so that we would not be suspected of carrying a load on their bodies and held a white cloth so that we would understand.”

"The shooting of the hostages was carried out contrary to the opening fire instructions," admitted Halevi. "It is forbidden to shoot at those who raise a white flag and ask to surrender. But this shooting was carried out during combat and under pressure."

As we mentioned earlier, steps to avoid this happening again are being put into place:

Detailing the circumstances, the Chief of Staff highlighted the complexities faced by IDF soldiers in the field, where split-second decisions can determine life or death.

Halevi pledged to draw lessons from the incident and implement measures to prevent such occurrences in future conflicts. The IDF aims to maintain transparency with the public and the families involved, providing updates on the investigation.

Hamas Is Still To Blame

While the world community is using this unfortunate turn of events to make the IDF look bad, we must keep in mind that these hostages wouldn’t even be in this danger if not for them being abducted in the first place. And their tactics are explained further in the article, tactics that could explain why the third hostage lost his life:

The military said that the only people seen wearing civilian clothing there have been Hamas operatives, often unarmed.

The operatives collect weapons left behind in various buildings, open fire at troops, and then flee again unarmed to another building.

The IDF has also encountered several seemingly unarmed civilians in Shejaiya who turned out to be Hamas suicide bombers.

There have also been several attempts by Hamas men in the area to lure soldiers into an ambush.

As we see, the odds were stacked against these hostages because of the IDF suspecting traps at every turn. Even the building in question was thought to be suspect yesterday:

On Wednesday, in what was initially thought to be unrelated to the deadly mistaken shooting, the senior officer said that several hundred meters away troops found a building with spray paint on the wall reading “SOS” in English and another sign reading “Help, three hostages” in Hebrew.

The soldiers at the time believed the building was booby-trapped, but now the military is investigating a possible connection to Friday’s incident.

Pursuing Another Hostage Deal

It was only a matter of time before talks for going to the table to negotiate the return of more hostages would be sought. Obviously the families of those still believed to be alive and still captive went public with their feelings, angered even more as reports surfaced that the Israeli government was holding off on hostage negotiations thinking that the intensified attacks would being Hamas back to the table with an offer they could accept. We read about their anger from the same article in The Times Of Israel:

Families of the hostages met Saturday to discuss stepping up protests against the government in a bid to increase pressure for renewed talks that could lead to a further release of captives.

The forum representing the families said they would make an announcement late Saturday afternoon.

“We are playing Russian roulette,” Ruby Chen, whose son Itay is being held hostage, told reporters in Tel Aviv outside the Defense Ministry.

“We can’t go on like this any longer. Each day we don’t know when we will be the one to get a knock on the door,” he said.

As they voiced these feelings, the war cabinet met:

In the wake of the incident, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a meeting Saturday with military and intelligence chiefs “focused on efforts to return the hostages held in Gaza.”

Gallant met with Halevi, Mossad director David Barnea and Shin Bet chief Tomer Bar, along with other senior officers and officials.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly barred Barnea from traveling to Qatar for that reason earlier this week.

However, the Walla news site reported that Netanyahu has since changed his mind and agreed to dispatch Barnea to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe this weekend to discuss resuming negotiations toward another hostage deal.

As things continue to heat up militarily and politically, peace in Israel is getting harder and harder to find. As such, I continue to tell you to pray for the peace of Jerusalem as Jesus told us.