A “tragic mistake”. The death of three Israeli hostages shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip is “heartbreaking” news and a “tragic mistake,” White House spokesperson John Kirby commented on Friday, December 15. “I don’t believe it’s possible to draw any broader conclusions from this particular event and what it says about the capacity [des forces armées israéliennes] to be more surgical and more precise” in their actions, he added. This live is now over.
Three Israeli hostages killed “by mistake” by Israeli soldiers. The Israeli army announced that soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip had killed three Israeli hostages “misidentified” like a “threat”. “As a result, the soldiers opened fire in their direction and they were killed”, announced army spokesperson Daniel Hagari on television. The families of the hostages have all been informed, the Israeli army added in a statement. “The Israeli army expresses its deep remorse over this tragic incident and extends its deepest condolences to the families. Our national mission is to find the missing and return all hostages home.”she concludes.
A second entry point for humanitarian aid. Israel announced on Friday, December 15, that it had approved “temporarily” the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip through one of its crossing points, located at Kerem Shalom, in order to decongest that of Rafah, located between the Palestinian territory and Egypt. “Only humanitarian aid from Egypt will be delivered to Gaza this way”, said the Prime Minister’s office. The World Health Organization welcomed “A very good news” and requested that the whole of Gaza be able to benefit from this aid.
Mahmoud Abbas defends the indivisibility of the Palestinian state. The president of the Palestinian Authority said that any attempt to “to separate” and D’“isolate” part of the Palestinian state was “unacceptable”. “Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine”he underlined, according to his team, during a meeting with Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser, in Ramallah. “It would not be right for Israel to occupy Gaza”Jake Sullivan said earlier in the day.
Washington calls on Israel to “be careful”. Jake Sullivan arrived in Israel on Thursday, where he met the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant. According to the White House, he discussed the possibility of a shift in the offensive towards “lower intensity operations” in a “near future”. Joe Biden called on Israelis to concentrate “on the preservation of the lives of civilians” and “be more careful”.
The Israeli army anticipates more difficult battles. The strikes increased again in the Gaza Strip during the night from Thursday to Friday. “There will be more tough battles in the coming days”warned Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari.
A Franco-Israeli hostage found dead. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, announced on “sadness” after the announcement of the death of Franco-Israeli hostage Elya Toledano. “I share the shock and grief of his family. He was 28 years old. France continues to work tirelessly to free all the hostages.”he added. The Israeli army said on Friday that it had recovered and returned to Israel the bodies of eight people during an operation in the Gaza Strip. Among them are two Israeli soldiers kidnapped on October 7, Nik Beizer and Ron Sherman, both aged 19, as well as the Franco-Israeli Elya Toledano.