Occupation soldiers captured by the Qassam Brigades (social media)

An investigation by the Israeli occupation army into the case of the accidental killing of 3 Israeli prisoners in Gaza by its soldiers revealed that the dead were waving white flags and that one of them was begging in Hebrew, saying, "Save us."

Despite this, the force fired at them against instructions to open fire out of fear.

According to Hebrew media, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy was briefed on the preliminary findings during his visit to the Southern Command on Friday, and it is believed that the investigation could be completed on Saturday.

Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said Friday that "during the fighting in Shujaiya (neighborhood), the army mistakenly identified 3 Israeli prisoners as posing a threat, as a result, the forces shot them and killed them," expressing "deep remorse for the tragic incident."

Shujaiya. Minutes of Terror

The incident took place in the Shujaiya neighborhood, which witnessed a few days ago the killing of the commander of the 13th Battalion in the Golani Brigade and a number of soldiers and the wounding of the commander of the 12th Battalion.

According to the Israeli army, Yotam Haim, Alon Shmeriz and Samer al-Talalqa were killed, all in their twenties.

Two days before the incident, the Israeli occupation forces found a building that was written "Save 3 SOS Hostages" in Hebrew hundreds of meters from the scene. According to the Israeli press.

The area witnessed heavy fighting between the resistance and the occupation forces last week, and a number of resistance fighters were wearing civilian clothes.

The three abductees left a building dozens of meters away from the building where the Israeli army force was stationed. A soldier then saw them walk out of the building without shirts and carrying a stick with a white cloth (a white flag, according to the shooting instructions, prohibiting shooting at the person carrying it).

The soldier considered the three abductees to be a threat, shouted "terrorists" at his comrades and started shooting at them. According to Hebrew media, two were killed instantly and the third was wounded into the building from which he and his companions came out again.

The shooting stopped and the injured hostage started screaming from inside his hideout, "Save me. Save me" in Hebrew.

As soon as he heard the screams of the third man, the military commander, who is a major gave the orders for the ceasefire, and the wounded prisoner came out of the building reassured, and a soldier hurried to shoot him dead, violating the orders of the field commander.

After the killing of the "hostages", the occupation soldiers had doubts about the identity of the dead, so they were transferred to Israel, and after examining the bodies, it was found that they were prisoners of the resistance in Gaza.

An attempt to catch up

In the repercussions of that incident, which has occupied the Israeli media since its disclosure, Al Jazeera correspondent Najwan Samri said that instructions were sent to the occupation forces inside the Gaza Strip to be careful and not to repeat this scenario again, and messages were sent to the soldiers that the army is working to draw lessons from what happened.

She pointed out that the occupation army seeks to avoid the impact of that operation on the psychological state of the soldiers and the conduct of military operations in Gaza.

The correspondent revealed that there is an attempt to acquit the soldiers who killed the captives by the army.

According to the Israeli media, a paper was distributed to the occupation soldiers containing new instructions to be taken into account in the event of similar incidents, including that there is a possibility that the prisoners have been abandoned or escaped, and that the soldiers should pay attention to some indicators in the event of a similar incident, such as speaking Hebrew, and raising hands and clothes.

The new instructions stressed that a senior officer must be informed of the situation in the field in order to take the appropriate decision.

Al-Qassam Brigades captured many occupation soldiers in the battle of Al-Aqsa Flood (Al-Qassam Brigades Telegram account)

Questioning the novel

In the context of not revealing accurately what happened in Shujaiya, Colonel Staff and military expert Hatem Karim al-Falahi questioned the Israeli narrative in statements to Al Jazeera, pointing out that it has many gaps and question marks.

Al-Falahi pointed out how there are prisoners who are not "at least handcuffed", and wondered "where they got the flags", "and how prisoners can roam freely".

He said the dead "may have been from other sectors that penetrated the areas and were not prisoners", he said.

The military expert predicted that there is a different version of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and that it may clarify the matter and how the incident occurred.

Al-Falahi explained that this incident has an aftermath and may be a way out for the Israeli government to stop the war and start the negotiation process for the release of prisoners held by the resistance.

Feedback

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the killing of the three prisoners an "unbearable tragedy" and vowed to continue efforts to return all detainees to their homes safely.

Defense Minister Yoav Galant expressed solidarity with the families of those killed.

"In this difficult time, my heart and mind are with the families of the three dead and these are difficult hours, and the mistake is painful for every Israeli, no matter who he is, we must be patient, and continue to work for our abductors, soldiers and citizens," he said on platform X.

Army spokesman Jonathan Conricus stressed that recovering prisoners militarily is a formidable challenge and a very difficult task, adding that they are committed to recovering them through tactical operations that endanger his soldiers, and said that it is good that they are recovered through diplomatic means.

Families of Israeli detainees in Gaza also demonstrated in front of the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, with protesters raising slogans demanding that priority be given to the immediate return of detainees (believed to be 129) alive in an exchange deal at any cost.

Merav Sversky, sister of Itay Sverski, who is being held by Hamas, said: "I am dying of fear," adding: "We demand an agreement now."

In this context, Israeli affairs specialist Nohad Abu Ghosh told Al Jazeera that this incident may be the beginning of the disintegration of the Israeli consensus on the aggression on the Gaza Strip, especially in light of the neglect of the issue of prisoners by the resistance.

He also explained that in light of this incident and the losses in the ranks of the occupation army, voices began to appear saying, "What are these sons killing for?!" , referring to the deaths of the occupation in Gaza. In particular, the Hamas force has not been affected after 70 days of aggression on the Gaza Strip.

The Qassam Brigades and the Jerusalem Brigades had earlier announced the death of a number of Israeli prisoners held by them as a result of the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip since October 7.

Source : Al Jazeera + Agencies + Israeli Press