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Israel’s military expressed “deep remorse” on Friday after announcing that it had accidentally killed three Israelis held hostages in the Gaza Strip during fighting in the enclave.
The Israel Defense Forces said that the incident occurred on Friday when its soldiers “mistakenly identified” the Israelis as a threat during combat in Shejaiya, and opened fired on them.
Hamas militants took about 240 people hostage during their October 7 attack on Israel, and bringing the captives home is one of the main aims of Israel’s offensive. The hostages killed were all young men in their 20s.
“The IDF expresses deep remorse over the tragic incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences,” the military said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the killing of the three men “an unbearable tragedy”.
He added: “Even on this difficult evening, we will dress our wounds, learn the necessary lessons and continue with our supreme effort to return all our hostages home safely.”
Defence minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would “remain resilient and continue operating — for the hostages, for our citizens and for our soldiers”.
Israel and Hamas last month agreed to a weeklong pause during which the militant group released about 110 hostages. A senior US administration official said on Thursday there were about 100 hostages still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli and Palestinian officials in Israel and the West Bank to discuss a range of issues, including the timing of Israel’s military campaign, planning for the aftermath of the war in Gaza, and whether another pause can be agreed to release more hostages.
President Joe Biden met this week with the families of seven American men believed to be among those still held hostage in Gaza.
The senior US administration official said the last agreement on hostages broke down when Hamas backtracked on its pledge to release all civilian women and children and recategorised young women not in the military as soldiers.
“The issue now is whether and how to try to get this process back on track, again, starting with those women that Hamas has acknowledged that they are holding but they have refused to release,” the official said.
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