An investigation by the Israeli occupation army into the case of the mistaken killing of 3 Israeli prisoners in Gaza by its soldiers revealed that the dead were waving white flags and that one of them was calling for help in Hebrew, saying, “Save us.”
However, the force opened fire on them, contrary to instructions to shoot out of fear.
According to the Hebrew media, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy was informed of these preliminary results during his visit to the Southern Command yesterday, and it is believed that the investigation can be completed today, Saturday.
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said yesterday, Friday, that “during the fighting in (the neighborhood of) Al-Shuja’iya, the army mistakenly identified 3 Israeli prisoners as posing a threat. As a result, the forces opened fire on them and killed them,” expressing “deep remorse for the attack.” “The tragic accident.”
Al-Shujaiyah… Minutes of terror
The incident occurred in the Shuja’iya neighborhood, which a few days ago witnessed the killing of the commander of the 13th battalion in the Golani Brigade and a number of soldiers, and the wounding of the commander of the 12th battalion. The occupation of Shuja’iya is considered one of the difficult and complex combat zones.
According to the occupation army, Yotam Haim, Alon Shimrez, and Samer Al-Talalqa, all in their twenties, were killed.
Two days before the incident, the occupation forces found a building on which “Save 3 SOS Hostages” was written in Hebrew, hundreds of meters from the site of the incident. According to what was reported by the Israeli press.
The area witnessed violent fighting between the resistance and the occupation forces last week, and a number of the resistance fighters were wearing civilian clothes.
The three kidnappers left a building dozens of meters away from the building in which an occupation army force was stationed. Then a soldier saw them leaving the building without shirts and carrying a stick with a white cloth (a white flag, according to the shooting instructions, it is forbidden to shoot at the person carrying it).
The soldier considered the three kidnappers a threat, shouted to his comrades, “terrorists,” and began shooting at them. According to the Hebrew media, two were killed instantly and the third fled wounded into the building from which he and his companions emerged again.
The shooting stopped and the injured hostage began screaming from inside his hideout, “Save me, save me” in Hebrew.
As soon as he heard the third scream, the military commander, who had the rank of major, gave orders to cease fire. The wounded prisoner emerged reassured from the building, but a soldier quickly shot him and killed him, in violation of the orders of the field commander.
After the killing of the “hostages,” the occupation soldiers had doubts about the identity of the dead, so they were transferred to Israel, and after examining the bodies, it was found that they were prisoners of the resistance in Gaza.
Try to make amends
In the repercussions of that incident, which has preoccupied the Israeli media since its revelation, Manhattan Tribune correspondent Najwan Samri said that instructions were sent to the occupation forces inside the Gaza Strip to be careful and not to repeat this scenario again, and messages were also sent to the soldiers that the army is working to draw lessons from what happened.
She pointed out that the occupation army seeks to avoid the impact of this operation on the psychological state of the soldiers and the conduct of military operations in Gaza.
The correspondent revealed that there is an attempt to exonerate the soldiers who killed the prisoners by the army.
According to the Israeli media, a paper was distributed to the occupation soldiers containing new instructions that must be taken into account when similar incidents occur, including that there is a possibility that the prisoners may have been abandoned or escaped, and soldiers must also pay attention to some indicators in the event of an incident. Similar to speaking Hebrew, raising hands and clothes.
The new instructions stressed that a senior officer must be informed of the situation in the field to take the appropriate decision.
Questioning the narrative
In the context of not disclosing precisely what happened in Al-Shuja’iya, Colonel Al-Shuja’iyya and military expert Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, in statements to Al-Jazeera, questioned the Israeli story, pointing out that it contains many gaps and question marks.
Al-Falahi pointed out how there are prisoners who are not “at least handcuffed,” and he also asked, “Where did they get the flags from,” and “How can prisoners walk around freely.”
He said that the dead “may be from other sectors that penetrated the areas and were not prisoners,” he said.
The military expert expected that there is a different story among the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and that it may explain the matter and how the incident occurred.
Al-Falahi explained that this incident has consequences and may be a way out for the Israeli government to stop the war and begin the negotiation process to release prisoners held by the resistance.
Reactions
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the killing of the three prisoners as an “unbearable tragedy” and pledged to continue efforts to return all detainees to their homes safely.
While Defense Minister Yoav Galant expressed solidarity with the families of the dead.
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While army spokesman Jonathan Conricus stressed that recovering the prisoners militarily is a tremendous challenge and a very difficult task, adding that they are committed to recovering them through tactical operations that expose his soldiers to danger, and he said that it is good for them to be recovered through diplomatic means.
The families of Israeli detainees in Gaza also demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, and the protesters raised slogans demanding that priority be given to returning the detainees (believed to be 129 detainees) alive immediately in an exchange deal and at any price.
“I am dying of fear,” said Merav Svirsky, the sister of Itay Svirsky, who is being held by Hamas, adding, “We demand an agreement now.”
In this context, Nihad Abu Ghosh, a specialist in Israeli affairs, told Manhattan Tribune that this incident may be the beginning of the disintegration of the Israeli consensus on the aggression against the Gaza Strip, especially in light of the resistance’s neglect of the issue of prisoners.
He also explained that in light of this incident and the losses among the ranks of the occupation army, voices began to appear saying, “What are these children being killed for?!”, in reference to the occupation deaths in Gaza. Especially since Hamas’s strength has not been affected 70 days after the aggression on the Gaza Strip.
The Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades had previously announced the killing of a number of Israeli prisoners held by them as a result of the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip since last October 7.
Source : Manhattan Tribune + Agencies + Israeli press
