• Last Friday, three Israeli hostages were mistakenly shot and killed by the Israeli Defence Force, while they were holding a white flag and raising their hands in surrender.
• The International Community increases their call for a ceasefire and is “alarmed” by Israeli forces conduct, breaking yet another international law.
On Friday, December 15, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) were positioned in the neighbourhood of Shuja’iyyah in Gaza and immediately shot three young men when they appeared from a building shirtless, holding a white flag, and had their hands in the air.
Pictured: The white flag had SOS written in leftover food.
Despite the sign of surrender, the IDF shot two of the young men, who were killed instantly, and another man ran back inside the building but later tragically passed away. However, when they heard yelling in Hebrew, the soldiers realized they had killed some of the hostages.
Israelis have been described in the news as “stunned” and “speechless” by the mistaken killing of their own men. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented that this has “broken the whole nation’s heart,” but he remains “committed as ever to continue this to the end” and “proud to have prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
BBC News has shown pictures of the three men in their 20s who were shot; from left to right they are: Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim, and Samer Talalka.
Whereas Palestinians remain nameless and faceless whilst generations are indiscriminately massacred every day.
On Sunday, Israeli forces attacked the Nuseirat and Jabalia refugee camps and killed more than 100 civilians. Are Israelis not appalled by the recent horrific treatment of Palestinians in refugee camps and hospitals?
The accidental death of these hostages has brought to light the terrifying reality of the massacre in Gaza and the approach of the IDF Forces. Netanyahu’s shoot-first policy and excessive force has been widely criticised.
In response, the head of the IDF have told troops that they do not shoot a person who raises their hands and is surrendering. This should have been understood already by soldiers, as murdering those surrendering breaks international law and is a violation of basic military ethics.
Roy Yellin, Director of Public Outreach at the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, is not surprised by the trigger-happy soldiers and has stated: “We have documented over the years countless incidents of people who clearly surrendered and who were still shot.”
In a news conference yesterday evening with US Defence Secretary, Yoav Gallant stated that the IDF is operating “according to international law” and that they are trying to “minimise the harm to civilians.”
Yet, the brutality of the Israeli army is further exemplified as two Christian women were shot dead by snipers in a Catholic church in Gaza City on Sunday 17th December. One was even shot as she tried to carry the other to safety.
Throughout this genocide, it is clear that the Israeli forces can use inhumane force to racially kill all Palestinians; this is only criticised when this force has impacted an Israeli civilian.
