Tel-Chai Nation

A tragedy occurred in which the IDF, while doing battle in the Gaza strip, accidentally killed 3 hostages:

New details emerged Saturday following the tragic incident in which three Israeli hostages that had been taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 were mistaken for terrorists by IDF troops and then killed.

The incident occurred in an area where there were no civilians present, and where most of the people identified were usually terrorists trying to harm our forces. However, in recent days the forces have encountered incidents where terrorists tried to lure them into traps. According to a senior official, the IDF was not familiar with a scenario where they might encounter roaming hostages. Several dozen meters separated the battalion's force from the building where the hostages were.

According to the initial investigation, three suspicious figures were spotted exiting a building located just tens of meters from where the force was positioned, carrying a white flag on a pole. One of the soldiers felt threatened, shouted "terrorists!" and opened fire toward them despite the rules of engagements prohibiting using live fire on those carrying a white flag who want to surrender. The soldier hit two of the hostages, and then a third hostage ran back into the building. At this point shouts of "Save us" in Hebrew were heard.

The battalion commander held fire, believing it was an incident aimed at deceiving the forces. The fighters shouted at the figure, who only later turned out to be an Israeli hostage, to come out, and cries of "Save us" in Hebrew were apparently heard from the building. The figure emerged and IDF forces mistakenly opened fire on him. Due to the figure's appearance, the battalion commander realized this was a major incident and an investigation was launched.

Two days before the tragedy, a building with "Three hostages," "SOS," and "Save us" spraypainted in red was discovered a few hundred meters from where it occurred. The connection to the incident in which the hostages were accidentally killed is being investigated. The forces have already encountered such writings on buildings that turned out to be booby-trapped.

Even so, that the soldier who fired and killed them would do so with such incredible irresponsibility still reeks of pure disgust at how he wound up taking innocent lives, and I honestly feel he should be convicted in court for costing the lives of hostages who could've been saved much more easily if it hadn't been for that. The families of the victims have every right to be outraged.

Here's another report on this humiliation:

The tragic event in which three captives were killed by IDF fire on Friday has triggered understandable public outrage, but if were to look beyond the event itself, it must echo a clear message: Every day that goes by endangers the lives of the captives.

The event itself was a serious mishap and a blatant breach of the rules of engagement. The captives moved without shirts and waved a white cloth – that is, they took every possible step to ensure that they posed no threat.

Nevertheless, one of the fighters shouted that they were terrorists and opened fire at them. He hit two captives, and the third who fled to a nearby building was shot and killed despite shouting "help" and despite the battalion commander's order to cease fire.

This incident exposes operational questions on how far away one should open fire, and under what approval process, as well as the necessary distinction between a clear enemy combatant and a potential threat.

It also exposes ethical issues of reckless shooting at those who surrender, certainly when they are at a distance where they pose no danger to the forces. It also raises the issue of coordination and understanding regarding the captives, which requires appropriate guidelines, even if the scenario that materialized on Friday of captives wandering freely in the middle of the street seemed unlikely.

Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, did well by making clear yesterday what was obvious: The IDF will not fire at those waving a white flag. This is important not only vis-à-vis the captives but in a broader view: vis-à-vis the world, which accuses Israel of war crimes and may see this incident as proof that Israel strikes Gaza civilians without any distinction.

Still, the chief of staff must ensure that the soldiers' fingers are not too trigger-happy. This is not an easy task, under non-trivial conditions, where Hamas makes every effort to harm the soldiers and set traps for them.

Even so, this was a terrible fiasco, and the worst part, as Joel Pollak mentioned, is that the tragedy could be used as a weapon to undermine Israel. It's to be hoped that troops now will be instructed better, and that they'll improve. Even so, this was surely avoidable, and a terrible shame it had to happen.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, jihad, military, misogyny, sexual violence, terrorism, war on terror