Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari December 15th, 20:15

Good evening,
I would like to update the public with difficult and painful news about an event that occurred earlier today:
During the fighting in Shejaiya, the IDF mistakenly identified hostages as a threat. As a result, the soldiers fired at them and they were killed.

After the shooting, during a search and examination, immediate suspicion arose regarding the identity of those killed. Their bodies were quickly transferred for examination in Israel, where they were identified as hostages:
Yotam Haim, may his memory be a blessing, who was kidnapped from Kfar Aza by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7.
Samer Talalka, may his memory be a blessing, who was kidnapped from Nir Am by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7.
And an additional hostage whose name we will not mention at the request of his family.
Representatives of the IDF and the Israel Police notified the families.

This is a sad and painful event for all of us, and the IDF bears responsibility for everything that happened.

We started investigating the incident immediately. This is a tragic incident, which took place in a combat zone where soldiers encountered many terrorists and fought hard battles in the last days, including today.

In some cases, they also encountered suicide-bombing terrorists, without weapons, as well as experiencing attacks in which terrorists tried to mislead IDF soldiers and draw them into a trap. Shortly after the tragic incident, another encounter with terrorists took place near the scene of the incident.

We are in the stage of collecting the facts and ascertaining the details of the incident. Lessons taken from this incident, particularly key emphases for identifying hostages in combat zones were immediately transferred to all IDF soldiers operating throughout the Gaza Strip, in order to do everything to prevent another tragedy like this.

The IDF expresses deep sorrow regarding this disaster and shares in the grief of the families.
May their memories be a blessing.