JERUSALEM: Israeli soldiers ignored cries for 鈥渉elp鈥� when they stormed a Gaza building holding three hostages just days before killing them by mistake, said a military investigation published on Thursday.
The soldiers also heard 鈥渉ostages鈥� shouted in Hebrew on December 10, but interpreted that as a 鈥渢errorist deception attempt鈥� by Hamas militants to lure them into the building in the Gaza City district of Shejaiya, the probe said.
Believing the building was rigged with explosives, the soldiers exited and killed five Hamas militants trying to escape, it added.
The hostages then probably fled the building also, and on December 15 Israeli soldiers shot them after mistakenly identifying them as a threat, the investigation said.
Two were killed instantly. The third hostage fled and soldiers were ordered to hold fire in order to identify him, the probe said.
Hearing cries of 鈥渉elp!鈥� and 鈥渢hey鈥檙e shooting at me,鈥� Israeli commanders asked the surviving hostage to advance toward the soldiers.
But two soldiers 鈥渨ho did not hear the order鈥� because of 鈥渘oise鈥� from a nearby tank shot him dead.
The three hostages were all shirtless and one had been carrying a white flag.
On December 14, an army drone had identified signs of 鈥淪OS鈥� and 鈥渉elp, three hostages鈥� on a building close to where the three hostages were shot.
The army 鈥渇ailed in its mission to rescue the hostages in this event,鈥� army chief Herzi Halevi said in a statement published along with the report of the investigation.
The three fatalities 鈥渃ould have been prevented,鈥� he added.
Soon after the killings of the hostages were announced, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it 鈥渂roke my heart鈥� and 鈥渂roke the whole nation鈥檚 heart.鈥�
Israel has been mourning the deaths of the hostages identified as Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa.
The killings of the three men, all in their twenties, have sparked protests in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators demanded that the authorities come up with a new plan to bring home the remaining 129 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
About 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas鈥檚 October 7 attacks in Israel, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Vowing to destroy Hamas and bring back the hostages, Israel launched a massive military offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement that has left much of Gaza in ruins.
The territory鈥檚 Hamas government says the war has killed at least 21,320 people, mostly women and children.