Initial investigation of the tragic killing by IDF troops of three hostages who escaped their Hamas captors on Friday revealed that the force operated in violation of IDF regulations when they opened fire.
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One of the hostages was carrying a white flag and the three had removed their shirts to indicate to the troops that they posed no danger to them, but despite that the soldiers opened fire hitting two of them and a third who escaped into a nearby building. A senior officer who believed him to be a terrorist commanded a force to attack the building.
The obvious European appearance of one of the dead hostages prompted an inquiry that revealed their identity and the tragic outcome of the action.
In the probe, the IDF said that in the past week, terrorists had attempted to lure the Israeli forces into traps by calling out "help" in Hebrew.
The IDF says three soldiers were involved in two of the shooting incidents. Mere minutes and dozens of meters separated them. In both cases the shooting was in violation of orders, forbidding soldiers to open fire on unarmed civilians or anyone holding a white flag which indicates surrender.
Graffiti with the words "help" and "captives" in Hebrew nearby was examined for boobytraps on the days preceding the incident and explosive devices were located nearby. Now the IDF said they would investigate the building further to see if the captives had sheltered there after escaping the Hamas.
"We did not prepare ourselves or the troops for the possibility of captives appearing on the streets in Gaza," a senior officer said. "This is a terrible tragedy for all of us and a complex scenario for the troops," he said.
"I don’t think it is a failure of values and we are not judging the force, just learning on the fly from the event and applying the lessons learned to the fighting in the Strip. The soldiers were dealt with by the commanders who provided emotional support so that the force could continue its deployment. We've explained to the forces operating that the same could happen to them and is an indication of the need of officers to lead their troops."