Anger grows after IDF mistakenly kill Israeli hostages, hunger spirals in Gaza

Israel continued to pound Gaza on Sunday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced growing pressure to secure the release of Hamas' hostages still held in the Strip after the army admitted to shooting dead three Israeli captives in the Palestinian territory.

The trio were among an estimated 250 people taken hostage during Hamas's October 7 raids into Israel, and are among the 18,800 people, mostly women and children, to have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since Israel launched its assault there. 

The circumstances of their deaths remain unclear, but in a statement late on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said: "During combat in [Gaza City's] Shejaiya, the IDF mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed."

Waving a white flag

One military official later told reporters in a phone briefing that the shirtless hostages had been holding up a white flag when they were shot, citing an initial inquiry into the incident that has shaken the country.

A soldier saw the hostages emerging tens of meters from Israeli forces, he said. "They're all without shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth on it. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they're terrorists. They (the Israeli forces) open fire. Two (hostages) are killed immediately," the official told reporters in a phone briefing.

The third hostage was wounded and retreated into a nearby building where he called for help in Hebrew, the official said. "Immediately the battalion commander issues a ceasefire order, but again there's another burst of fire towards the third figure and he also dies," the official said. "This was against our rules of engagement," he added.

The news that the three had been killed by Israeli forces prompted a late-night protest outside Israel's defence headquarters in Tel Aviv. The army has since expressed its "deep sorrow" and said it is investigating, while Netanyahu said in a statement: "Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the death of three of our dear sons who were kidnapped. My heart goes out to the grieving families in their difficult time."

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However, he also doubled down on his war effort, telling reporters that "the military pressure is necessary both for the return of the kidnapped and for achieving victory over our enemies." 

At another protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday, relatives of hostages gathered to plead with the government for a deal. "Take us into consideration and come up with a plan now (for negotiation)," said Noam Perry, daughter of hostage Haim Perry, at the protest.

More than 100 of the Israelis and foreigners taken captive by Hamas and other Palestinian fighters on October 7 were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners during a week-long truce last month, mediated by Qatar. But despite the Israeli government stating that returning all of the hostages is one of its chief war aims, the army has failed to rescue any hostages since launching its ground invasion into Gaza, although it freed one early in the conflict and have found the bodies of several more. 

Families of those captured said earlier this week they were "shocked" by the recent announcement from the director of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad that he was refusing to carry out fresh negotiations to free the hostages. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoners' Association said Israel has detained more than 4,400 Palestinians since 7 October and was keeping around half of them in detention without charge.

Truce efforts

On Sunday, according to Gaza's health ministry, at least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes on the central city of Deir al-Balah, while witnesses also reported Israeli air and artillery strikes on the southern municipality of Bani Suhaila east of Khan Yunis, the Gaza Strip's second city.

Meanwhile, fierce ground fighting continues to rage in the Strip, with the Israeli army saying it had raided two schools on Saturday which it claimed were Hamas hiding places in the northern Gaza City. Two more IDF soldiers have been killed in the fighting, bringing the total to 121 since ground operations began in late October.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said a Christian mother and daughter were shot dead by an Israeli soldier on the grounds of the Gaza Strip's only Catholic church. Meanwhile, in Khan Yunis, dozens of journalists took part in a funeral for Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, who was killed in an Israeli strike, according to his news organization. More than 60 journalists and media staff have died since the war began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Amid intense international pressure, Netanyahu on Saturday appeared to address fresh Qatari efforts towards a new truce. "We have serious criticisms of Qatar, about which I suppose you will hear in due course, but right now we are trying to complete the recovery of our hostages," he said.

In a statement, Qatar reaffirmed its "ongoing diplomatic efforts to renew the humanitarian pause." But Hamas said on Telegram it was "against any negotiations for the exchange of prisoners until the aggression against our people ceases completely."

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said late Saturday he was travelling to Israel, Bahrain and Qatar to highlight Washington's "commitments to strengthening regional security and stability," while French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna arrived in Israel on Sunday where she is pressing for an "immediate and durable" truce.

UK Foreign Minister David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock wrote in The Sunday Times that the "need is urgent" for a "sustainable ceasefire" in Gaza. In the face of mounting international pressure, Israel announced a "temporary measure" to allow aid deliveries directly to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

News platform Axios said Israeli spy chief David Barnea met Friday in an unspecified European location with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who helped negotiate the earlier break in the fighting.

'Hunger, disease, weak immunity'

Israel's bombardment of Gaza has left much of the territory in ruins, with the UN estimating 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced by the war. The UN said this week that hunger and desperation were driving people to seize humanitarian aid being delivered to Gaza, warning of a "breakdown of civil order."

International aid organizations have struggled to get supplies to desperate Gazans. "I would not be surprised if people start dying of hunger, or a combination of hunger, disease, weak immunity," said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

The agency reported a "prolonged communications blackout" across Gaza that started on Thursday night and has continued over the past 48 hours. U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, has voiced growing concern over civilian deaths, but has yet to directly push back against Israel's attacks on Gaza.

Meanwhile, the WHO stated the emergency department at the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, the Strip's largest medical facility, is "a blood bath" and is "in need of resuscitation" after being devastated by Israeli bombardments. A team from the World Health Organisation and other United Nations agencies was able to deliver medical supplies Saturday to the hospital, the largest in the Palestinian territory. 

The WHO said that "tens of thousands of displaced people are using the hospital building and grounds for shelter," and that there is "a severe shortage" of drinking water and food. It added that "the team described the emergency department as a 'bloodbath', with hundreds of injured patients inside, and new patients arriving every minute," saying that "patients with trauma injuries were being sutured on the floor... (and) no pain management is available."

Cover image: A boy squats as mourners attend the funeral of Samer Fouad Al-Talalka, a member of Israel's Bedouin Arab minority who was mistakenly killed by the Israeli military while being held hostage in Gaza. /Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

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