Benjamin Netanyahu’s new indication after three hostages ‘mistakenly’ killed by Israeli forces
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said he mourns the death of three Israeli hostages who were “mistakenly” shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip. He, however, said Israel will continue its offensive in Gaza until the Palestinian group Hamas is destroyed, reported news agency Reuters.
“It (the killings) broke my heart. It broke the hearts of the nation,” Netanyahu said in a nationwide address. “We are fighting for our existence… and we have to continue until victory.”
The hostages – Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka and Alon Shamriz – were killed Friday in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops are engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas. All of them were in their 20s.
Israeli military officials said three had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed.
The victims were among more than 240 people taken hostage during an unprecedented attack by Hamas into Israel on October 7 in which around 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians. In response, Israel declared war against Hamas and bombarded Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and launched a ground offensive, killing over 17,000 people.
In November Hamas released over 100 hostages for Palestinian prisoners during a brief cease-fire after Qatar mediated negotiations.
New negotiations underway?
In his address on Saturday, Netanyahu appeared to confirm on Saturday that new negotiations were underway to recover hostages held by Hamas.
He said Israel’s offensive in Gaza had helped clinch a partial hostage-release deal in November and vowed to maintain intense military pressure on Hamas, according to Reuters.
“The instruction I am giving the negotiating team is predicated on this pressure, without which we have nothing,” he said.
The statement came after the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, reportedly met Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe late on Friday.
Meanwhile, Hamas, in a statement, said the group “affirms its position not to open any negotiations to exchange prisoners unless the aggression against our people stops once and for all.”
It added, “The movement communicated this position to all mediators.”