Israel: Killed 3 hostages by mistake: Israel

Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during combat with Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Israeli militarysaid. The incident took place in Shejaiye, one of the densely populated communities in northern Gaza that the Israeli military has identified as a Hamas stronghold. Israeli forces “mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat,” the military said in a statement.”As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed. During searches and checks in the area in which the incident occurred, a suspicion arose over the identities of the deceased. Their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages.” The military identified two of the hostages, who were kidnapped during the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7, as Yotam Haim, who was taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza; and Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Am. The family of the third has requested that the name not be released, the military said. The military said it was investigating the incident.