The Israel Defense Force confirmed on Saturday that three Israeli hostages in Gaza had been killed in a friendly fire incident the previous day, striking a crippling blow to the nation’s morale during its war with Hamas.
At the same time, the IDF faced renewed external criticism after Pope Francis accused Israeli snipers of gunning down Christian two women outside Gaza’s only Catholic church — claims the IDF verified and then hastily denied.
In a statement posted to Telegram, IDF officials admitted that three Israeli hostages had been “mistakenly identified” as a threat during an engagement in Gaza City on Friday. Around 10 a.m. local time, the three men had emerged from a nearby building, waving white flags and calling for help in Hebrew. According to the IDF’s report, one of the nearby soldiers shouted out “Terrorists!” and the entire squad opened fire — already a breach in protocol, which forbids firing under a flag of truce.
Two hostages were killed instantly, and the third fled to a nearby building, still pleading for help in Hebrew. Against the orders of a commanding officer, the soldiers continued firing on his position until he too was killed.
The IDF has had legitimate reasons to be skeptical of false surrenders by Hamas operatives, many of which result in soldiers being killed in ambushes and booby traps. According to Israel’s military leadership, the possibility of hostages making their way into the open on their own had never occurred to them.
The bodies were taken back to Israeli territory for examination, where authorities confirmed that the victims were not enemy combatants, but rather their fellow countrymen. The men were identified as Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka, and a third whose family asked that he not be identified publicly. All three were kidnapped by Hamas during the initial attack on October 7.
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The IDF has taken full responsibility for the shooting, the soldiers involved have been recommended for psychological counseling, and Israel’s senior command “sends the families its heartfelt condolences.”
In light of this incident, Israeli leadership is now reportedly fearful of public sentiment shifting against the war, as was the case when civilian pushback derailed a campaign in Lebanon 25 years ago.
But even as the Israeli government braces for blowback from its own people, external pressures are growing for Israel to rethink its strategy.
In the latest and most prominent example, Pope Francis resoundingly condemned Israel over claims that IDF snipers had killed two Christian women outside a church in Gaza City.
According to The Times of Israel, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem published an open letter on Saturday claiming that “a sniper of the IDF murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families have taken refuge since the start of the war.”
“Nahida Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar Kamal Anton were shot and killed as they walked to the Sister’s Convent,” the letter continued. “One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety.”
Seven others were reported injured by gunfire as they took cover, and the patriarchate alleges that no warning was given and no enemy combatants were present at the church.
“Some would say ‘It is war. It is terrorism,’” the Pope said. “Yes, it is war. It is terrorism.”
After the statement from the Vatican on Sunday, the IDF confirmed that an “incident” had taken place outside the church, with Israeli troops responding to “a threat that they identified in the area of the church.” IDF leadership promised to conduct a full investigation.
However, on Monday, the Israeli government emphatically denied the Pope’s claims, and the IDF cleared itself of wrongdoing, stating that “There was no fighting in the Rimal neighborhood [of Gaza] where this specific Catholic Church is located.”
“The IDF has conducted no fighting around that area,” said spokesperson Tal Heinrich.
Heinrich also observed: “There are numerous cases [where Israel was] accused of things that were reported, and as you know, media reports had to backtrack their statements.”
Despite these claims, the Vatican has yet to change or retract its position on the incident.
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