– As defense minister, I take responsibility for everything that happens in the security sector and everything that happens in this war. Both what we achieve and the cost, and the serious mistakes. The same applies to yesterday’s incident, says Israel’s defense minister during a press conference on Saturday. Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi made a similar statement earlier Saturday. In a televised statement, he also claimed responsibility for the three hostages killed. – The IDF and I as its leader are responsible for what happened. We will do everything in our power to prevent such incidents from recurring in the continuation of the fighting, Halevi said in a statement on Israeli television on Saturday. He added that the three hostages did everything to make the Israeli soldiers understand that they did not pose a threat. – They moved without shirts so that we would not suspect them of having bombs on their bodies, and they held up white clothes so that we would understand, he said. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi says the hostages did everything to make the Israeli soldiers understand that they posed no threat. Photo: AP Defending the soldiers The exchange of fire took place in connection with fighting in the Gaza suburb of Shejaiya. The three hostages appeared a few tens of meters from an Israeli soldier and Israeli forces thought they posed a threat. Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalka were all in their 20s. They were abducted to the Gaza Strip during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October. – The shooting of the hostages took place in violation of the regulations. It is forbidden to shoot at those who wave a white flag and surrender. But this shooting happened in combat and under pressure, Halevi said and also tried to defend the soldiers who killed the three Israelis: – I try to place myself in the head of a soldier in Shejaiya after days of intense battles, melees, encounters with terrorists in civilian clothes that try to approximate in every possible way. They must be alert and ready for all threats. A split-second decision can be the difference between life and death, said the defense chief. Samer Talkalka, Alon Lulu Shamriz and Yotam Haim were shot dead by Israeli soldiers as they fled from Hamas in Gaza. Photo: Privat The Israeli military (IDF) has launched an investigation into the incident. According to Halevi, they have immediately learned lessons from the murders, and this has now been communicated to Israeli soldiers. – There may be other cases where hostages escape or are abandoned during battles, and we have a duty and a responsibility to save them alive, he said, among other things, in his speech. Defense Minister Gallant says he has spoken to the families of the three men killed. He describes the phone calls as “charged, painful and difficult”. – First and foremost for the families, but also for me personally, he says. At the same time, the families and relatives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip want the Israeli authorities to stop the fighting and make an agreement to secure their release. There was a large crowd in Tel Aviv on Saturday who want the authorities to resume the hostage negotiations and stop the fighting. Photo: Reuters Hundreds of protesters in Tel Aviv want negotiations The call came during a weekly demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday, organized by an organization for the families of Israeli hostages and missing persons. The demonstration is taking place in a square in Tel Aviv that has now been renamed Gissel Square after families and relatives regularly used it to gather after 7 October. The square is located near the IDF headquarters. – We only receive corpses. We want you to stop the fighting and start negotiations, said Noam Perry, daughter of Haim Perry, who is being held hostage. After the demonstration, hundreds of protesters marched from Gissel Square to the IDF headquarters, reports Haaretz. The families and others present say they will barricade themselves outside until they are presented with a new action plan for hostage release. “Bring them home now,” is the slogan of the families of the hostages. Here from Saturday’s demonstration. Photo: Reuters Netanyahu asks the IDF to fight to the end At the same time, it does not seem as if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is all that willing to negotiate. During a press conference on Saturday, he says that the fighting in the Gaza Strip will continue “to the end”. – We are determined to continue until the end, said the Israeli Prime Minister at a press conference, according to Sky News. There he also expressed his grief for the three hostages who were killed by Israeli forces by accident on Friday. Netanyahu also said that the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip had helped push forward the exchanges of hostages and prisoners in November, and continued: – The instructions I give the negotiating team are based on this pressure, without it we have nothing, Netanyahu said. The Reuters news agency interprets this as a possible hint that new negotiations have begun. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Qatar’s Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and the director of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, were to meet in Oslo. The talks were described as “exploratory”, and the sources say that there is much that stands in the way of a new hostage agreement. Barnea is also expected to meet Egyptian officials, according to the newspaper.
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Israel’s defense chief and defense minister take responsibility for killed hostages – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
