New elements on the circumstances of the tragedy are emerging. The three Israeli hostages killed “by mistake” by their own soldiers in the Gaza Strip on Friday December 15, were shirtless and one of them carried a white flag, according to the first elements of the investigation carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces revealed on Saturday December 16. According to an army statement, one of the Israeli soldiers believed it was a Hamas trap when he saw these three men leaving a building. The Israeli army says “understand what could have led the soldiers to act in this way”because “the only people wearing civilian clothes [dans la zone] are members of Hamas.”. Follow our live stream.
“An unbearable tragedy” for Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister immediately regretted “an unbearable tragedy” who dives “the entire State of Israel in mourning”. Shortly after the announcement, families of hostages and supporters marched with photos of captives in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv to demand an immediate agreement for their release.
Three young men “mistakenly identified” as a “threat” by the IDF. The victims are Yotam Haïm, a 28-year-old drummer in a heavy metal band, Samer al-Talalqa, a 25-year-old Bedouin, and Alon Lulu Shamriz, 26, the Israeli army announced, specifying that the bodies had been repatriated in Israel.
Al Jazeera journalist killed. If Israel is in mourning on Saturday, Qatar and Gaza are also in mourning after the death of Samer Abou Daqa, an Al Jazeera cameraman killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younes, the main city in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to the Qatari channel . More than 60 journalists and media workers have died since the start of the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
A new entry point for humanitarian aid in Gaza. After more than two months of war and a total siege imposed by Israel since October 9, living conditions in Gaza are nightmarish for Palestinian civilians forced into ever-smaller areas, estimates the UN. Israel authorized the opening on Friday “temporary” of a new entry point for humanitarian aid into Gaza, while continuing intense airstrikes despite U.S. pressure for more restraint.