Families of hostages detained in Gaza demanded that Israel put an end to hostilities and negotiate a solution to ensure their release. Following the army’s admission that it “mistakenly” killed three captives in Palestinian territory, this has happened. The Israeli army said that the soldiers who executed the detainees were holding a white flag and had yelled in Hebrew for assistance. This came after demonstrations in Israel caused by the concern that the surviving captives’ families would lose their loved ones next.
“We only receive dead bodies. We want you to stop the fight and start negotiations,” Noam Perry, daughter of hostage Haim Perry, mentioned at an exclusive event at Tel Aviv. Ruby Chen, father of 19-year-old soldier Itai, added, “We feel like we’re in a Russian roulette game (finding out) who will be next in line to be told the death of their loved one. They explained to us first that the ground operation would bring back the abductees. It doesn’t work. Because since then, abductees have been seen returning, but not so much alive. It’s time to change this assumption.”
Is Israeli army abruptly killing hostages?
An Israeli military official mentioned in conversation with Reuters, “They’re all without shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth on it. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they’re terrorists, they (forces) open fire, two are killed immediately.” “The third hostage was wounded and retreated into a nearby building where he called for help in Hebrew after which “immediately the battalion commander issues a ceasefire order, but again there’s another burst of fire towards the third figure and he also die. This was against our rules of engagement,” he added.
Hostages held captive by Hamas
During Hamas’ October 7 strikes on Israel, some 250 individuals were taken prisoner and approximately 1,140 people, largely civilians, were killed. At least 18,800 individuals have died as a result of Israel’s enormous offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement, the majority of whom were women and children.