Updated | Three Israeli hostages killed in 'tragic mistake' by IDF were waving white flag

The three Israeli hostages who were being held by Hamas in Gaza who were accidentally killed by the Israeli Defence Forces, were shirtless and waving a white flag, according to Israeli news media.

A military spokesman announced on Friday that the hostages were killed in the northern village of Shejaiya, when Israeli soldiers opened fire after they were "mistakenly identified as a threat." The victimes were named as Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26.

Israeli news reports on Saturday have now clarified that the three Israeli hostages had managed to escape Hamas captivity only to be shot dead by their own troops.

IDF spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, addresses the nation

Citing an initial investigation, a senior officer in the IDF's Southern Command said the incident began after an IDF soldier identified three suspicious figures exiting a building "several dozen meters away."

All three men were shirtless and one of them was carrying a stick to which a makeshift white flag was attached, the investigation found.

The soldier believed that the men approaching him were Hamas militants attempting to lure IDF soldiers into a trap and immediately opened fire, shouting a warning of "terrorists" to alert nearby forces.

troops in Gaza on December 15, 2023. (Courtesy)

The IDF provides new details of yesterday’s tragic incident in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, during which three Israeli hostages who managed to escape Hamas captivity were shot dead by troops.

According to a senior officer in the Southern Command, citing an initial probe, the incident began after one soldier stationed in a building identified three suspicious figures exiting a building several dozen meters away.

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 alert his coleagues.

According to the investigation, that soldier killed two of the men, and wounded the third who fled back into the building from which he had emerged.

The battalion commander who was in the same building from which the shots were fired ordered the soldier to stop shooting, but when the third man re-emerged moments later, another IDF soldier had opened fire on him, with fatal results.

The soldier who immediately opened fire upon identifying the three men did so against protocols, as did the second soldier who killed the third man, the Southern Command staff officer said.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deaths an "unbearable tragedy" and pledged that Israel would continue to return all abductees safely.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said the killings were a "tragic mistake," adding that the US did not have "perfect visibility on exactly how this operation unfolded".

Two of the victims, Yotam Haim, who was seized from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Am, were recognised once the hostages' bodies were returned to Israel.

A third hostage’s name was withheld, in keeping with the wishes of the victim’s family.

Around 1,200 people were killed by Hamas as a result of the October 7 attack and 240 were captured. The retaliatory counterattack by Israel is reported to have claimed almost 19,000 lives, mostly women and children, and a further 50,000 wounded so far.

A brief truce and prisoner swap resulted in the release of some of the detainees at the end of November. Hamas released more than 100 women, children, and foreigners held captive in Gaza, in exchange for the release of 240 women and teenagers imprisoned by Israel.

This is a developing story, which will be updated as more information emerges