2m ago / 10:55 AM UTC
Death of 3 hostages killed by Israeli soldiers ‘could have been prevented,’ investigation finds
The deaths of three hostages who were shot dead by members of the Israeli military as they held a stick with white cloth “could have been prevented,” an investigation into the incident has concluded.
Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka were killed in Shejaiya, Gaza on Dec. 15.
In a news release about the investigation released yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces said “an IDF soldier fired toward three figures, identified as threats, and hit two of the hostages who were killed.”
“The third figure fled,” it said. Although commanders had given orders to hold fire so the person could be identified, when “the figure emerged from a building toward the forces,” the release said, “two soldiers, who did not hear the order due to noise from a nearby tank, shot at and killed the third hostage.”
The release said the Chief of the General Staff “concluded that it was a difficult event with very difficult outcomes.”
“The IDF failed in its mission to rescue the hostages in this event,” it said, “The entire chain of command feels responsible for this difficult event, regrets this outcome, and shares in the grief of the families of the three hostages.”
It added that The Chief of Staff “determined that the hits on the hostages could have been prevented,” and there was no malice in the event, and the soldiers carried out the right action to the best of their understanding of the event at that moment.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
