Israeli army announces it killed 3 Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip

In a written statement regarding the incident, the Israeli army stated, "During combat in Shejaiya, Israeli army forces mistakenly identified 3 Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, the soldiers fired at them and they were killed."

The statement noted that "doubts arose regarding the identities of the deceased" during searches and checks conducted in the area where the incident occurred, adding that the bodies were subsequently transferred to Israel for examination, where it was confirmed that they belonged to the 3 hostages.

Following a detailed examination, it was reported that the bodies were identified as hostages Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka, along with a third hostage whose family requested that their name not be released.

AN ACTIVE COMBAT ZONE

Pointing out that the Israeli army has begun an investigation into the matter, the statement argued that the area where the incident took place "is an active combat zone where fighting has been ongoing for the past few days."

The statement concluded, "Immediate lessons from the event have been learned and relayed to all Israeli army troops in the field. The Israeli army expresses its deep regret over the tragic incident and conveys its sincerest condolences to the families. Our national mission is to locate the missing persons and bring all hostages back home."